


Spin of Destiny

by AnthonyTsa



Category: Monster Girl Quest, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Action/Adventure, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Drinking, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gore, Hamon (JoJo), Hurt/Comfort, Major Original Character(s), Monster Girls, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Sentient Stands (JoJo), Spin (JoJo), Stands (JoJo), slight crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:41:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 131,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27414406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnthonyTsa/pseuds/AnthonyTsa
Summary: Through freak accident a troubled man is sent to a foreign, yet familiar world and not only does he have to face new enemies and challenges, but also keep up his lies and his sanity as he ventures deeper into the eroge's story, while trying to master a fundamental force of the universe.
Relationships: Alice XVI (Monster Girl Quest)/Luka (Monster Girl Quest), Luka (Monster Girl Quest) & Luther Chambers (OC) & Tusk (JoJo), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 15
Kudos: 23





	1. Centre

**Author's Note:**

> This story is Cross-posted on FF.net under the same author name, the AO3 version will be uncensensored if I ever run into problems on FF.net and are forced to change the story.  
> You won't need to know that much about JoJo, they will be explained.  
> Also the first chapter is the shortest in the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also please note: if you're one of the people that haven't read the FQA of AO3, there is a large difference between "/" which signifies a romantic or sexual pairing and "&" which signifies platonic, friendships or familial ties.
> 
> I just felt I would clarify, since I've read a lot of stories that confuse the two.

The sound of obnoxiously loud metal rung throughout the hallway as a hunched-over man tried to clumsily pick out the right key for his apartment door. The lights above were weak, creating a hefty amount of shadow on him and making him look like a dark mysterious figure to any unknowing passerby.

The man was hunched over wearily looking at the giant ring of keys. His was balance off-putting, even with the support of the door frame. His face and eyes were red, but there were no signs of emotional distress of any kind, just the pungent smell of alcohol coming from his breath. He was wearing a suit, one you would often see on employees working in an office, the tie was ruffled and loose enough to be easily pulled from his neck with a simple tug, his currently disheveled appearance made the man as if he came out of a sewer.

He had light brown hair that blended in quite well with the soft lights of the apartment complex, his eyes are grey, silver if shined on directly, they held dullness in them almost as if any sign of a soul has long left them leaving only bitter coldness. Otherwise, he appeared relatively clean: fine stubble was left from his recent shave, he kept his hair short, and there was no sign of grease in it. Overall he was a rather attractive individual; the only thing detracting from his appearance is a feral scar on his right cheek, but it did add to a mysterious aura that most people attributed to him if only felt about the same way.

"Fuc- which one of them was it again?" He mumbled to himself. His slurring speech had made his words hard to recognize, although it didn't matter much, to his belief there was no one around him to listen, he was alone after all...

The sounds of foreign footsteps hitting against the concrete floor of the complex ring out behind the drunken individual, who doesn't pay mind to it all until a familiar voice calls out to him. It was his longtime friend, whose eyes narrowed in an attempt at getting a better look at the intoxicated individual.

"Hey, Luther! How was your day at wor-." The familiar individual abruptly ended his sentence, seeing the state his friend was in. His smile had started to dissipate, before turning into a frown.

"It's one of those days, isn't?" he sighed, hoping the drunken man did not hear it, as he was turning around. Luckily for him, his voice was quiet enough.

"James! Good mourning or is night? I can't quite really tell." Luther stumbled towards James, his shoulders relaxed, feet dragging across the floor.

James was a bit of an underweight man. His hair had gold color to them, it messy and reached to his lower tip of the ears, his eyes were a deep shade of blue, which often reflected anything he looked at. There was a strained fake smile on his face that was so painfully obvious for anyone looking at him, anyone who was sober at least.

"Actually, it's evening and those are the garage's keys." James pointed out going closer to his neighbor, gently grabbing the keys out of his hands and put them in his pocket gazing at his friend with a somber look at his face.

"Do need any help?" James asked Luther, who in response simply nodded and wrapped his arm around his friend's neck and used him as a support.

This moment between them wasn't a rare occurrence, in fact, this started happening in the final years of college while they were roommates. James being one of Luther's few friends was forced to help him during his drunken bouts, out of the kindness of his heart and for the sake of his homework.

Neither of them minded that this situation all that much, as during that period of time they relied on each other in their time of need after all when the whole world is against you, you only had yourself and those willing to help, but it wasn't always like this. Luther was an ambitious sort, especially in the earlier days of his life. His drive was capable of lasting through most of the curriculum. All of that ended, even with his strong will and drive, depression took its toll.

He coped with it as any man would, and after a while, he even overcame it through healthy and…not so healthy methods. Yet the damage was already done. He was scarred in spirit, as he was scarred in body. Leading to what could have been a great man becoming a broken office worker stuck in an unfulfilling dead-end job with memories of older glory days to keep him company.

"So you heard about the new paper that got published. It's an observation of a rather unexplainable phenomenon…ah they will figure it out anyway." This peaked Luther's interest, the man closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to gather focus.

"What is it?" Luther inquired further, his voice straining.

"Ah! There's the issue…apparently, there might be sudden spikes in gravity, in certain small places the feeling of weight just increases rapidly and just as quickly decreases, they have yet to measure the effect with proper equipment... and… It might also be happening in the vacuum of space..." James trailed off, his words becoming a blur of incoherent rambling to his friend.

Whether it was just James's roundabout way of explaining things by randomly introducing new topics in his explanations or Luther's lack of soberness that did this it still bothered the man that he didn't understand it.

"Sorry, I'm just rambling here." Seeing his friend's confusion he offered an apologetic smile.

"Can you explain the space part?" Luther inquired, hoping to get an answer on the most peculiar part of his friend's explanation.

"Well, I don't know what to say, haven't you seen some of the news networks? Satellites orbiting around earth randomly get crushed, really been bothering some of the companies flying those things, but it's not so overly widespread… and there is also a paper tying these happenings to the phenomena…I'll just send it to you in the morning." With that James helps his neighbor unlock his apartment door which creaked open revealing a rather barren hallway.

"Yeah…that's about it. Have a good night Luther, we can finish this later…on better circumstances." James excused himself as he let his drunken friend go and support himself on the door frame handing him the apartment door key.

Luther finally entered his apartment and closed the door proceeding to frown and look around as if trying to find something he lost. The man's apartment was rather plain looking, it had a regular smooth wooden floor, a carpeted living room, painting, and photos filled the empty spaces of the walls and made him feel more welcoming within this small abode. To the average person it seemed to just contain the necessities of living, along with somethings to entertain himself with, however to the perceptive individual they would notice the uniqueness that expresses certain parts of his life whether a long time passed or remaining.

The bookshelf in the living room contains not only books but folders of research papers and manga as well. There was a guitar leaning against the sofa, which he used pluck along the heartstrings of himself and those around him, a window to the beauty that is music, something that helped him cope. Family photos on the wall and furniture that strangely never contained any motherly figure, just him, his father, and siblings. Medals and a master's degree helped fill the emptiness of the hallway, they were reminders of the past accomplishments which glory has long since faded away, temporary and not worth a second look he would admit, especially the achievements related to sports, the older he got the less interested he became. And his two most prized possessions: his computer, containing many video games, his research and the ultimate access to the almighty internet, and a messenger bag, more specifically the contents of which he has collected over the years, they remained within his mind for a long time and still do albeit not as much as they used to. There were files upon files, research papers, his notes, and his award-winning thesis, his true achievements, and the entirety of his interests hidden within that bag.

"Hmm…" Seeing everything was in place, Luther settled down and head to his bed.

* * *

The wakeup wasn't pleasant, the effect of a hangover can have on a person can be rather stressful, painful, and sometimes torturous often ending in a false promise to never drink again, if only that were the case...

With a groan, Luther gets up from his bed, his headlight and swinging a back and forth. Regardless of him sleeping past the morning he still felt tired, he felt weak, the world around was spinning, yet staying still. It wouldn't be the first or probably the last time he would be having such an experience. Luther headed to his bathroom, where he could potentially empty the contents of his stomach and enjoy the temporary warmth and comfort of his shower that only slightly eased the pain of his headache.

"Ugh…why do I always do this to myself?" He grumbled, but his voice remained as monotone ever, of course, he knew the answer just didn't want to voice it out loud or entertain the thought for even moment in his current state, he was already suffering enough to begin and to add more weight onto his consciousness would probably break his neck.

Finishing his silent contemplations, all dressed up the man walked to his kitchen, his movements were too rigid and automatic to be considered human as if there was nothing but an empty husk in the shape of a human being left in his place. He began his late breakfast of simple bacon and eggs, with a cold face and cup of coffee he watched sizzling food cook in his frying pan.

Luther was broken out of his dull thoughts by a familiar sound of two phone notifications- a sent file that brought back memories of a previous conversation and…an invitation that shook him to his core.

_Hey Luther, I know it's been a while since we all last met for something like this considering all that has happened since college, I'm probably the last person you'd expect to get a message from, but it's better late than never. I know we all have our grievance toward one another and the past has eroded our friendship, yet they're so much left to salvage. We used to be great, the only matter that complicated that were conditions that we had no control over, the greed and doubt from people who want nothing more than to profit from something that can benefit mankind._

_James has already agreed to this and so have the other, you're the one who started this, so please help us finish it._

_-P_

The man stared at the message for many minutes, he wanted to laugh, cry and run around at this cruel joke, two years too many used up by wasting away at his apartment and job, and only now do they decided to contact him after his little group's break up, but instead he felt nothing, emptiness. He could not muster up any amount of hatred or spite as it might have burned out him a long time ago or he couldn't blame them for what they've done. Now there was a chance at reconciliation, even if had to be taken a little step at a time.

There was a location, and time listed, and he almost missed it if had woken later. Luther rushed to finish the meal and coffee opting to ignore any uncomfortableness that might have brought. He put on his coat and his prized bag that he took to important events and marched toward his apartment's exit

As he opens the door Luther feels a sudden increase in body weight. The man and his surroundings shuddered and shook from pressure, his knees buckled giving the feeling of his bones breaking.

Cracks started to form inside of his apartment, floating in the air, letting out an otherworldly light. These cracks eventually reached and collided with one another, Luther felt the weight disappear. The sudden change in pressure caused him to fall on his knees. Looking behind him he saw the anomaly, the sight of which causes his body to completely freeze, like a deer caught in the headlights.

In the middle of the converging cracks, a shape started to form.

…

A Sphere?

It was a sphere glowing with light similar to the cracks. After a couple of moments rings surrounded the sphere in an orderly fashion, appearing somewhat similar to the familiar gas giant in our solar system -Saturn. This new 'object' completely contradicted the previous chaotic pattern of the cracks. It was contained and strangely peaceful in its spinning motion.

He couldn't help but continue to stare, with hordes of questions wandering over his mind such as: 'Is any of this real? I'm I dreaming? To 'Is it this thing the phenomena James mentioned?'. Seeing that nothing was happening, the man finally gathered the courage to edge ever so closely to the strange object.

'What is this thing?' He asks himself, in spite of not knowing the answer tried pondering it.

'Right let's see here…Gravity bends the fabric space-time and if I remember correctly extreme gravity or rather mass can punch a hole in it, a rupture. But that would cause a black hole, wouldn't it? But the fact that I'm still alive and this apartment complex, this city is still standing disproves my hypothesis. Or perhaps this thing wasn't caused by gravity, what was that weight then? Was it just the result?' Luther drew a pen out of the many pockets in his bag and lightly threw it at the levitating spinning sphere.

Once the pen touched the spinning anomaly it bounced off slightly, only for it to stop its motion and begin spinning in the air. Seeing the strange reaction Luther had walked even closer and touched his spinning pen. It harmlessly had landed in his palm and together with that the man's worries and anxiety vanished, once he realized the sphere didn't pose any immediate threat to his livelihood. With that conclusion, Luther decided to do something rash, a decision that he might come to regret for the rest of his life. Although based on his previous observations the only thing that would happen to him would just be light spinning in midair and nausea that came along with it.

…That was not the case, however…

As soon as Luther's fingers touched the strange sphere he was suddenly pulled to the center, the lower part of his arm bent in a spiral fashion. If the man wasn't preoccupied with sudden shock and the task of trying to get away from the new threat, he would have noticed, even its current state, none of the bones in his appendage have been broken, as he did not feel any pain. Even with his attempts at struggle from the anomaly's grasp, it pulled him even further in, the weight he had felt before reappearing and getting stronger the closer he got. Luther was lifted off the ground, his body levitating and bending in the same way his arm did. The body parts that did reach the center seemingly disappeared as if he was in a cartoon and stuck part of his body in a dark hole. Once his shoulder was "absorbed", his body quickly followed suit, the spherical anomaly fully consuming him into whatever depths it held.

* * *

The man found himself in a prone position, simply floating, unable to move. Darkness was the only thing he saw, nothing but an empty void all around him. He felt immense pressure all over his body, he was being crushed, his bones turning into mere dust, his flesh into mush, but the weight disappeared as soon as he was nearing death and he began to be remade into his original shape, damage previously done disappearing leaving him in a state he previously was in.

Once he was reformed Luther felt the weight and pressure hit him again, the pain he felt was no worse or better than what he had felt previously, but strangely he couldn't find himself being able to go on the unconscious. This pattern repeated countless times never really seeming to end, as this was happening he felt something burrow deep inside his body, shifting beneath his skin.

Every part of him had given up hope that he would, escape let alone survive this brutal torture.

That is until a light erupted above him. Luther didn't know what overcame him, but he desperately tried to reach for it.

'Come on! Move!' Even though he was mentally screaming his body refused to listen remaining in the same prone position no matter how many times fiercely he urged it on.

Instead, the light moved towards him and finally consumed Luther, sparing him from the pain.

* * *

It was seemingly a peaceful day in the forest, the trees were rustling in response to the calm wind, the birds were flying around, looking for sticks, grass, and other materials to build their nests, and singing their song to find a mate. Yet this peace was disturbed by a sudden appearance of cracks in the air. These cracks were the ones that appeared in a troubled man's apartment. The shining sphere was formed and continued to look harmless to any potential passerby.

Suddenly Luther got spit out of the disappearing sphere. He was gasping for air, panicked, afraid, and relieved that the pain was over. The man moved and sat down against a tree, his crazed breathing continues. Hugging himself he assumed a fetal position still shaking from shock.

"I am an idiot… I'm a fucking idiot!" His voice was shaky and unclear. He shook his head and looked around trying to get some insight into his situation noticing that he was truly alone here, as there was no other sign of human life around him, only trees and forest wildlife.

'I'm also the luckiest motherfucker alive! But I'm afraid I used up all my luck here...' He sighed and understood that he was, in his eyes, nowhere near human civilization and equipped with nothing more than a bag filled with books, files, and a phone. At least it was still better than his previous experience. Luther's panic had started to disappear; he was surprised to see that he was in a healthy condition: he had no bruises, broken bones, or any other types of wounds, just a weird rash on his left arm that pulsed with a strange heat. Even after an extensive session of looking at himself like a madman, he found practically nothing wrong with his body, this relieved him. The most surprising thing to him is that his belongings were all in perfect condition.

'I really am lucky or maybe not so much so…' There was a moment where the man-made a full realization that he was in the middle of nowhere. With nothing else to be done, he checked his phone, there was no service, and the clock was also showing that it was nighttime quite unlike the outright daylight shining down him.

'Something is not right.' This was rather concerning for Luther as he did correctly set his clock based on the actual time since a week ago. This made his mind wondered whether he actually set the time right, to something as insane as wondering whether he was on Earth anymore, no matter how hard he tried to banish this thought it stayed there, mocking him.

"Get off me!" Luther heard a juvenile voice ring out somewhere left of him. This got him out of his pondering as the distress of the voice and the possible context alarmed him. Chambers ran as fast as his legs could carry, almost leaping into the location.

The scene he saw paralyzed him: It was a familiar purple haired boy struggling in a prone position... against the first enemy in a game he played two years ago – a slime girl, one that he now saw the first face in front of him and not on a computer screen. The experience was quite different from his virtual encounter with it. The entirety of the slime girl was a deep shade of turquoise; she was nearly completely see-through with only several features remaining a thick slime. Her slimy form mimicked that of an admittedly cute girl with only the bottom part of her body being a gooey puddle which almost enveloped and stimulated the game protagonist. Her presence felt real to Luther no matter how hard he tried to deny it, down to her movement, to her breathing. She was as real as he was even with her downright strange appearance.

Luther stayed frozen there looking at the slime and Luka. His face didn't portray any emotion, but within him, a storm of emotion brewing and he felt guilt over the fact that him seeing a boy being raped in front of him, didn't bother him as much as the realization of where he was, sure there was a shock, but it didn't compare to the horror of this conclusion, or perhaps he was still processing this information and had experienced a mental crash. He was in Monster Girl Quest...

"Oh! Look at what we have here! Are you going to watch or do you want to join, I would love to taste you!" The slime girl giggled, her tone was too innocent for the act she was performing. That and combined with the way she was looking at him had almost made Luther puke.

"Get away before she hurts you!" Luka exclaimed. That sentence would have made him laugh if he wasn't still coming to terms with his current situation.

'No way… There is no fucking way in Hell and Heaven! That I find myself in this place and in this moment…' The troubled man put his hands on his face and ruffled through his brown hair. Despite him being in emotional distress he knew he had to something, he couldn't just stand there and gape while a boy gets violated in front of him, and not just any boy, the one who must save the world, but is currently going to lose to the weakest enemy in the game. He glanced at the "pair" and sighed, his frustration spilling out into the atmosphere.

'Well… if you have the will, do it.' It was an important lesson he learned when faced with indecisiveness or being generally paralyzed, sometimes it's just better to act than to think beforehand. He moved at a slow pace towards them, his eyes were covered by the shadows. The top part of the slime's body swung around in excitement over the prospect of tasting two men at the same time, while Luka shuddered at her sudden movements.

Unfortunately for the slime girl that was not the case as the strange man walked up to both of them, grabbed her victim's arm, and pulled him out of her grasp with surprising strength she has never seen a human muster, then again she never did interact with many humans before, but her kin did inform her that humans were quite weak- both with mind and body, to see that reality shatter as he easily pulled the boy was scary, and his expression, his frown full of apathy, was terrifying.

With a yelp, Luka was pulled from his enemy's slimy heaven and he looked at his towering mysterious savior, a part of him regretted telling him to back away, seeing this stranger manhandle the monster made him feel slightly inferior. He was supposed to be the hero, yet this man managed to do more than he had, but he was surprised once again when the stranger handed him his sword back.

"You want to be a hero, don't you? Show me what you can do…and pull up your pants." The strange man said which inspired Luka… embarrassed him, but not without giving a second glance at the stranger.

The hero apprentice did exactly as his rescuer ordered and readied his sword, his opponent snapped out of her shock, but still looked weary at his savior. His enemy didn't even see him as a threat instead of looking at the unarmed individual, which frustrated him. Luka decided to a small fast slash at his adversary, deciding to actually guarantee a hit on her instead of focusing on damage.

"Don't you want to feel heaven?" She teased, swaying her hips around and trying to beckon the tall stranger.

"SMALL LUKA ATTACK!" Luka slashed upwards hitting the slime girl's arm, she didn't even flinch. The limb was cleanly cut off, and there were no bones or blood that came out, as expected, instead, the arm simply fell on the ground and turned into a thick puddle that was quickly absorbed by her. With this, she smirked as she remembered they can't really hurt her, as she would simply regenerate, although she still didn't want to provoke the intruder which ruined her chances of a meal.

"Your attacks are useless against me, now come closer! I'll make you feel good!" The slime girl beckoned the two males, which made Luka blush slightly but got no response from Luther.

"With these tentacles!" The monster girl formed several small tentacles out of her form and groped Luka, who in response bit his lip to keep a moan from escaping. Luther narrowed his at this, simply observing the nature of the 'attack'.

Luther was watching the battle from the sidelines, although his face from the very start didn't portray much emotion he couldn't help and but despair and horror over the sight of eroge protagonist's horrible swordplay.

'Everything that Alice said about Luka's fighting style was true… it's horrible – his shifting stance didn't suit his size, his speed was off, he has barely existent footwork, he doesn't even try to dodge his opponent! And don't even get me started on how he swings his sword!' Luther lamented, he had never first hand participated in any sword match, but he has had lessons during his summer vacations along with his friends and he could tell Luka was definitely lacking in the skill department, currently, at least, he knew that Luka had a lot potential, hell, he will be able to stand up to a genocidal goddess, but now things are still simple and Luka needed any help he could get.

"You need to apply as much force over as much area as you can… try hitting her with your sheath instead, and when you start don't stop. It takes her time to reform." Luther suggested, of course, he knew the canonical way of beating this enemy, there wasn't much to memorize, even a child could do it, granted a child shouldn't be playing that kind of game.

"Hey, that's not fair!" The slime girl threw a childish tantrum as she tried to attack Luther, who jumped back from the attack getting even farther away from the fight.

'I knew it, that attack has had a limited range. She can't make her tentacles longer without making them fall apart or severely changing her form, which would leave her open to damage...' Luther blandly thought as he heaved out a sigh.

In response to this sudden attack Luka put his sword in its sheath and rushed the monster girl and began repeatedly beating her with the blunt force of his improvised weapon, she recoiled as if she was in pain, her cute form was slowly being reduced to a blob. The slime girl's regeneration wasn't fast enough to repair her form, it also didn't help much that's several small pieces of her body flew far from her as a result of the apprentice hero's reckless swinging.

"Awawawah!" The slime girl starts to back away from the assault most of her feminine body turning to a more formless shape.

"I just wanted something to eat you meanie!" The monster screamed at the handsome stranger that ruined her day with his meddling, she disappeared deeper into the woods, but not without swearing revenge one day.

Luther huffed from such a childish scene coming from someone who just committed heinous crimes, although he did have to admit it was a good distraction, however painful it was to watch, it warded off the nagging, panicked thoughts of being here, in this world and the consequences that come with that. While Luka only breathed a sigh of relief as combat finished.

"Good work with the slime, you drove her off." It was a simple statement, an easy observation, nonetheless it was a conversation starter that served slightly reinforce Luka's spirit.

"Yeah! Uh…thank you for helping me, my name is Luka, who are you?" Luka asked expecting to get an honest answer, despite the stranger saving him he, seemed suspicious, and how did he know he wanted to be a hero? Did he look like a hero? Not to say he wasn't grateful for the help, but still, there was an amount of suspicion. He may admit he is a bit naïve, he wasn't an idiot. He had never seen this man in the village or temple and he had just appeared randomly when he was in trouble. Perhaps he was a pilgrim coming from a distant land. It would explain his strange clothes and mannerisms.

"Luther, Luther Chambers, it's nice to meet you." The man stretched out his hand towards the boy for a handshake, Luka accepted it and found Luther's grip to be strong. After all Luther's father always told him the proper way for a man to do a handshake is to have a good grip

"How did you know I'm a hero apprentice?" Luka blurted out, the stranger didn't really answer his question as he had hoped, and maybe he should have more specific, he could at least try to get the important question out of the way.

'Shit…I should be careful with what I say.' This made Luther froze for a moment and realized his mistake.

"My mistake…You just reminded me of someone." It was the best excuse he could come up without involving him creating an elaborate lie, but now on second thought, he could only hope the boy didn't inquire further as this sentence may have made him even more suspicious. What pained him was seeing the young hero's eyes light up like fireworks in the night.

"I really look like a hero?!" Luka stood proudly, he was already being noticed, and he really was on the path of becoming a hero, which reminded him of something, something he had to do, an event he had to go to…

Luther didn't show it, but he felt guilt at how the boy reacted to his lie, he certainly did not expect such a reaction to occur, at worst he expected the future hero to call out his lie, but this was an unpleasant surprise.

'The lie will become truth.' He tried to justify, and yet this distaste for this action hasn't left him alone.

"Wait a minute…Oh! I totally forgot! I'm sorry, but I need to go to my baptism!" Luka shouted as he broke into a full sprint presumably toward Ilias temple, leaving Luther alone with his thoughts.

"So… I really am here." The man morbidly thought out loud. The fact is, he was disturbed that he was in this perverted cruel world, but he had no choice, there was no other anomaly to send him somewhere else he was here alone, and chances are, he might die alone.

'Maybe I can just sit through the story somewhere quietly and find a way to go back home… wait, no I can't! Even if there is no looming threat of angels descending down and slaughtering every human they come across when chapter three hits, I still have no usable currency! No past or possible way to blend in society! Hell! I didn't ask for directions! No allies! All alone…I have little to no probability of survival.' Luther sorrowed, he felt like he was out of all options, his emotions that been bubbling up were being released as he began to lightly bang his head against a tree.

"Oh come on, stupid brain, think!" He asked, begged. What were mere moments felt like a grueling hour as his mind cobbled together a plan, a gamble really...

'I know! Perhaps I could try to tag along with Luka, sure it's going to be risky... there is a real threat from both inside and outside his company. I have no real other option if I don't want to live every waking moment with uncertainty, at least by his side I would be more in line with the plot, besides there is no guarantee whether Luka chooses the right choices or doesn't fuck on an enemy, he would have lost to a Slime, it hadn't been there then this already be over…' He glanced to the side, where Luka ran to the temple and sighed.

Luther continued to ponder his circumstances, unaware of the tentacle slowly wrapping around his leg.


	2. Radius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts are expressed through italics now and are more prominent. Bold words are actions or thoughts carry a lot of weight to them, these will not be common.
> 
> Warning: there is some gore in this chapter.
> 
> Please note that gore will not be featured a lot in this story, besides combat wounds and canon, this most likely a one time case.

Fear

Fear is an intense emotion that's caused by awareness or anticipation of a real or perceived danger. It is an instinct that tells you to look around, to protect yourself.

That was what emotion Luther was feeling when he realized that something had grasped his leg, a tentacle. It slowly registered to him what was happening, as he was having an internal monologue someone had taken advantage of his state of mind, _some monster_ had chosen him as prey.

 _Luther, you oblivious fool! How did I begin to think it was a good idea to lose track of my surroundings, especially in this place!_ Luther chastised himself. It angered him both at the inconvenience of the monster appearing and the fact that he had got caught off guard.

 _But…this does not make any sense. There is not a monster nearby the village, other than the slime girl, in the story, what the hell is happening?_ Chambers glanced at the purple tentacle slowly taking hold of his leg. It confused him for a moment. _Shouldn't this monster have already pulled me in by now?_

Then the realization hit him, this thing hasn't noticed his alert state, he was glad that his leg wasn't bouncing from the anxiety and fear, if it, he would have been dinner already. The man began to shift through his pockets even though the content of his bag hoping to find any sharp object he can use to cut himself free. Making sure he wasn't making any sudden movements that might alert his assaulter he looked around his surroundings to find a sharp object.

 _Seriously? I have nothing!_ Luther grimaced, he couldn't believe it…he could have escaped, ran away from this being, if he had a knife, one simple knife, a simple tool he should have brought! But then again what is it really his fault… that he didn't predict he would have to face a rape demon ever in his life. Chambers knew he was running out of time, the monster appendage was already stretching in an attempt to pull him in. He stifled his breath and offered a figurative prayer to no one in particular.

In an instant the tentacle pulled him, another appendage quickly followed and grabbed his other leg. The considerable force had slammed him into the ground, causing his body to ache in pain, his form spasm in an attempt to grip something solid enough to hold on to.

 _Come on! Grab onto something!_ His arms swayed around, nails biting and tearing into the rocks, and sticks were torn from the ground, the force of the motion too much for them. _Useless, useless, USELESS!_

Luther turned his head with a frightful look on his face, what he saw shook him to the core. It wasn't any regular tentacle monster, but a roper, a twisted and horrifying monstrosity of plant fiber and flesh, a creature that wouldn't live in any ecosystem under normal circumstance, but of divine interference. He would have cursed the name of the goddess that came up with its foul existence if he wasn't preoccupied with its attempt to devour him.

"Kekekeke Oh finally a meal. ~ I have been waiting for someone to come along for a long time, you know~?" The monster cackled sadistically, she had a wide lipless smile on her face that only matched the likes of Ilias in terms of creepiness.

"Although I would have preferred the boy over you, the children always scream the best! ~"The roper complained as she giggled. Whether she was trying to mess with him or she actually meant it, he didn't care, it disgusted him nonetheless.

 _Yes!_ Luther had managed to get a solid grip on a tree temporarily halting the roper. Unfortunately, the man's success didn't last long, as roper simply pulled him harder, his meaningless attempts only proved to entertain his twisted assailant.

"Yes! Yes! ~struggle more! ~" She moaned out.

He was quite close to her. The air around Luther grew cold with realization, the emotion, the fear he was feeling was slowly being replaced by _something else,_ the dark that the light of consciousness ironically instinctively pushed out, yet it slipped through the formed cracks. Gone was the near paralyzing fear and frustration, entered hatred and _primal fear_ , a fear which motivated to do something, to hurt, to damage someone, anything to survive. Chambers' left arm pulsed with heat. He felt something shift, crawl underneath his arms skin once more.

 _Nononono, NO! I'm not going to die now! After everything that just happened, after I just got out of that torturous hell hole! I absolutely refuse! You'll be damned if you expect me to not have the audacity to kick and scream while I'm being dragged into death._ Luther sneered at the roper and the soullessness of his eyes changed.

* * *

It was an average day for the roper, sitting in the middle of nowhere, waiting for prey to come by. For you see, she preferred a more subtle approach, got the best reactions out of them, always resisted and feared her most that way, and her long tentacles were perfect for the job. Shame they rarely do anything, but when they do, it's always a moment to savor.

She was broke out her daydreaming when she heard the commotion going on between a purple-haired boy and a slime girl, she only barely saw it through the foliage, but it looked like the slime had already taken him. It frustrated her. _How dare she!_ _A low-level monster caught prey, but here I am with nothing..._

She was now forced to sit here watch as her potential victim gets raped by an inferior monster, her multiple appendages twisted and tangled, just by thinking about it all. She considered doing something until a stranger intervened, he literally jumped in and surprised both of the monsters, but this 'heroic' bravado was broken as soon as the individual stood still frozen. She was forced to stifle her laughter. Is _this his first meeting with a monster? Is he so easily broken?_

Those thoughts were thrown out as the man stoically walked towards the pitiful slime and pulled the boy out. Maybe, this day isn't going to be boring, she was going to see that despicable slime kick the bucket or at least get beat up. After a couple of moments, she saw the same slime girl, missing some chunks of her body, rushing with ridiculous speed out of the bushes, completely ignoring her.

The roper looked onward and saw the purple-haired boy run off into the direction of that damned temple, but the man stayed and appeared to be deep in thought. She sighed, she would have preferred that boy over the man as her prey, not only did he smell better; she had also preferred a certain _taste_. But nevertheless, she couldn't complain, after all, she hadn't eaten in a while and beggars can't be choosers.

 _Oh, well…_ Her extra appendages stretched out on the ground hiding in tall grass, slowly moving forward toward their target. The Roper's tentacles were longer than that of her sisters, which along with her style of hunting had been constantly ridiculed, she despised them for this and never forgave their mockery. Every single prey she dissolved was a victory against them and she's about to put another trophy on the figurative wall.

The Roper managed to wrap around his leg, she smiled when she saw his reaction, and his desperate searching for something to get him out of this situation before it was too late, had given her entertainment. She had given him hope and now she would give him despair. She pulled him by the legs. The unfortunate man swayed his arms around in desperation and grabbed anything he got his hands on. It made her cackle. _It looks like this stranger got some fire with him._

He even latched onto a tree to stop her, how amusing, but ultimately useless, his efforts had almost aroused her, he had managed to make her moan. There was one thing for sure. _I'm going to eat him nice and slow~._

The monster finally managed to get a good look at his face, she had expected to see a terrified look on his eyes, like a rabbit caught by a predator, instead, she saw a cornered wolf ready to strike out at his enemy.

She could have sworn she saw dark fire brewing in his eyes.

* * *

Luther continued his fight for survival, despite that he was already at arm's length with the roper, he desperately tried to kick, punch and scream, but the monster merely wrapped her tentacles around his body and shoved one in his mouth, which was a mistake. Chambers bit down on the slimy appendage **hard**.

"You bastard! " The monster slapped the man with amazing strength, causing Chambers to spit out monster blood from the tentacle.

This physical hit caused a chain reaction of events rather unfortunate to the monster. The monstrous appendage she used to hit the scarred man let go of his left arm, which began to surge in invisible energy, although the man had no time to analyze what exactly was happening, the blow from the roper made Luther recoil, swinging his arm downwards.

***Swoosh***

The hand cleanly swiped through the roper. His adversary froze, her appendages fully relaxing, letting the man drop to the ground and hastily crawl away from her. Luther's breathing was erratic, his lungs taking any opportunity to take in more air, still remaining in a fight or flight state, and the fight is over, the only thing to do now is to run. However as he looked back at the monster, she just stayed there frozen solid, until part of her face started to droop down revealing a horrifying conclusion to this conflict.

The roper's skin tore away showing muscle tissue, blood vessels, along with the blood that gushed out and stained the grass and the dirt a crimson color, her face revealed several parts of her skull, the entirety of her teeth were visible, as well as the upper part of her jaw. Her heart popped out and threatened to fall on the ground, hanging loosely by several veins and arteries. The entire monster turned into a macabre flesh statue that looked like it had been made by a disturbed murderer.

Luther's breathing started to slow down as his body used up the last bit of his generated adrenaline, as did his shaking form. Chambers looked onward, his vision began to clear. Eyes widened at the unsettling scene before him, the now-dead Roper girl, in rage, and the adrenaline was replaced with dread.

 _Oh dear god…I did this, me…_ The realization hit him. He had killed someone… no, butchered would be the right word for what he had done. No matter how many times he closed his eyes or looked away, the image of the disfigured corpse of the monster stayed in his mind, showing the permanence of his actions. The man's throat tightened, his stomach churned. _I think… I think I'm going to be sick._

His mouth opened, but no words came out, the inner turmoil within him preoccupied his thoughts, he could only stare at his left arm. Then it came, the disgust, he could no longer bear it, his body tried to fight the bile, but it was too much. The digested breakfast he had, spewed out of his mouth, covering the ground near him. Though his burning throat was agonizing, it was fairly short, but felt like a century had passed.

 _It's okay, it's okay she deserves this..._ Luther's mind tried to make an excuse but found he could not.

 _No! This type of thinking can get you down a dark road Luther. You will end up even worse than her!_ He shook his head, at even conceiving the thought of excusing a murder. Chamber's knew that killing this monster had probably spared her future victim's lives, but what right did he have to sentence someone, regardless of their crimes, to death, let alone perform the deed himself? He didn't know how he would be able to look at himself in the mirror.

 _This…This isn't just a story…_ The body and blood had been too real for him. Any part of Chamber's thoughts that this world is going to follow the plotlines of the game, were banished. These people -monsters, humans, or angels were living, breathing creatures, not characters in some game.

He did not know how long he lingered there, motionless, agonizing moments passed by one by one.

 _Another fucking memory to burn a hole in my heart_ Luther deeply sighed as he found the strength to shakily stand upright. Truth is, he had no qualms with assaulting the monster to get away, he felt he was quite justified in doing in so, he believed in self-defense to a certain extent, but killing someone in self-defense was another moral beast in its entirety, a beast he hadn't expected to tackle within his life, and wishes to not tackle again.

While still nauseous, Luther had recovered some capability to think rational thoughts, the very first ones that came to his mind were: 'How did I even do that?' 'Can I do it again?' and 'Can I stop myself from doing it?'

Chambers couldn't bring himself to examine the damage he did yet, instead, he looked at the rest of the environment. Maybe he could get some insight into what exactly happened. He found himself drawn to the ground he had been dragged through.

The Outsider found pulled grass, rocks lodged out the dirt, tree bark, clumps of dirt, and something more, something intriguing. He found strange spherical deformations in the ground, these deformations stretched out from an origin point. Remembering the way he was dragged by the roper wasn't pleasant, but served to remind him that he was touching that exact spot with his _left arm…_

His left arm, curiously the rash had only gotten worse since he sliced the monster in half, it took a conscious effort not to start furiously scratching his arm to the bone. Which was suspect…the rash only appeared when he touched the _thing_ in his house. Or maybe he was just being paranoid? The shifting feeling underneath his arm, the deformities on the ground, the corpse lying behind him, and the manner of its mutilation, there was one thing he knew for certain, something had happened to his arm, he would be a fool to think otherwise.

Ever so slowly Luther shifts his view to the mangled corpse of his adversary, flinching at the mere sight of it. It wasn't the scene of this that caused him pain, but the idea, that he was capable of this destruction. He remembered the sensation of it, his hand cut through her with no resistance, like swiping through the air. The way all of it occurred brought some vague memories of a story he read through, though he wasn't completely sure of it.

_It can't be it, can it?_

Suddenly he heard a loud bang as if something had hit the ground.

The sudden crash had caused the man to enter an alert state; he wasn't going to go down without a fight. Except that there was nothing, no one around, he was safe…Then he realized -Alice had just crashed. Luther was hesitating, should he go to Alice and meet Luka again? It was a part of his plan after all…but this was it, there was no going back from that.

 _There is no better option I can think of…_ The man cautiously glancing at his left arm walked toward the crash site, finding no better alternative for his plan. He needed some security in this world, something his 'hand' likely won't provide, and even if it did he doesn't want to kill anybody… not again.

Chambers made it to the clearing and saw his purple-haired acquaintance looking over the knocked out monster lord. It wasn't that hard to find them, he already had a general idea of their location from the sound that…and the trashed trees were an obvious clue that he was going the right way.

Even distracted Luka had managed to notice the stranger he met not a long while ago, he looked _shaken_ … then, he realized something related to his savior and the monster that he found, something quite likely. _Does he hate monsters?_

Luther looked intently at Alice's laying body. Seeing her in real life was very different in a way Luther found it hard to describe, his eyes went up and down scanning her alien form - her purple skin and tribal tattoos, glorious pure white hair, pointy ears, most obviously her snake lower half of her body, the scales that neatly melded together somehow both looked rough and smooth at the same time, all of this made up her unique appearance, which the stranger ultimately admitted was very beautiful.

"You're not going to do anything to her?" Luka innocently asked the concern was quite evident on his face, seeing how Luther was staring at the lamia with a frown had almost confirmed his thoughts.

"No, of course not, I don't have any reason to harm her," Luther responded, somewhat confused as to why the boy assumed any harmful intent from him. That wasn't good for his plans, was it his mannerism, the probably creepy staring? He knew he wasn't exactly known for his bright smiles or happy disposition. Even if he wanted to do something he couldn't, his face refused to put on a façade.

"Luther Chamber, in case you forgot, it's Luka, right? Not the most pleasant way to meet again, is it?" The stranger's expression slightly softened as he shot some glances at Alice. Luka realized his savior did seem to harbor anything negative against the monstrous species, at least not enough to consider killing someone that's in a vulnerable position.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you again, even in this way..."

"Oh! What should I do? I have to go to my baptism, but I can't just leave her here." The hero apprentice suddenly asked the man before him, this surprised Luther, he didn't expect to get any choice in the matter. Of course, he knew his response already, lest he incurs the wrath of the monster lord herself, he doubted even his hand would help him in that situation if he knew how or even wanted to use it.

"If you want to know the answer to that question, ask yourself this. 'What kind of a hero would leave someone in their time of need'?", it was slight manipulation on his part, but it pushed Luka into the direction he needed to go.

"You're right! I can't just leave someone, because of my own selfishness" At his indirect question, Luka's resolve and the decision were reinforced, if he wanted to be a true hero he would help people regardless if they were a monster or human, even if it cost him his life. The purple-haired boy quickly rushed to Alice's side to check her vitals.

As soon as Luka got close, Alice opened her amber eyes, and looking directly at the fake hero she immediately got up. It was bizarre to see her move for Luther, despite how impractical her body looked, she moved perfectly and "stood up" without much issue, just like one would stand up with their legs, but he composed himself, he wasn't going to be caught gaping today.

"Where am I?" Alice bluntly asked without much warning, staring directly at the purple-haired hero.

"Eh..?" Her sudden question managed to surprise Luka. _That was fast, she just got up and is already interrogating me._

"I said. Where am I?" The monster lord rudely asked again, glaring both at Luka and the currently silent Luther.

"Err…You're close to Ilias village," Luka answered honestly, he was slightly taken aback that he did so quickly, perhaps this was simply fear he was feeling, this monster seemed powerful after all, his answer served to earn a sigh of relief from Luther.

"I was blown to such a place. That damn girl…what crazy strength…" Alice dejectedly mumbled which managed to only confuse Luka as to who this girl was referring to, unfortunately, he did not have time to dwell on that.

"Anyway, who are you, both of you?" Ignoring the confused state of the boy's mind she directed the question to both of the males in the vicinity.

"Luther Chambers." Luther introduced himself offering her no more or less than she asked, figuring that it could encourage Luka to answer truthfully, so he can avoid the "pleasantry" of being hypnotized.

That would put him in a bit of a corner, he couldn't cover his eyes before she uses her magic glare, else he risked being extremely suspicious, and actually being controlled could lead to some nasty consequences, if he somehow manages to slip words he shouldn't have said, say something he shouldn't have then either Alice or Ilias herself may kill him for knowing too much. _I'm gambling with my life here…_

"I'm the hero apprentice Luka, from the nearby Ilias village." The purple-haired boy responded with minor confidence he got from his savior near him, he felt relieved he wasn't alone in this situation with this rude monster.

"A hero's apprentice…So you haven't been baptized yet? You do smell pretty delicious." She smacked her lips sending a shiver down Luka's spine

"Speaking of smell…" She moved closer to Luther's face, surprising and forcing him to lean back from her sudden proximity which only made her lean forward, their noses practically touching. _Please don't fucking tell me I'm more of a monster magnet than Luka, that would be ridiculous, he's the Nephilim! I'm just an ordinary human, there's nothing interesting about me._

"How strange…I don't even know how to describe it," Alice remarked and mumbled something, a barely heard whisper. Chamber had only managed to hear the word 'floral', which perplexed him, although even in such a state he didn't miss Luka slowly backing away from Alice and him.

This was the only thought that popped into his head after the closed faced encounter. _She has no sense of personal space… on second thought I don't even know why expected anything else._

"Sorry, I don't have time for this, the baptism! I have to get there in time before it's too late!" The hero apprentice yelled out as he attempted to run away.

"Stop." The lamia ordered. Luka was immediately stopped by Alice reaching out and coiling her snake tail around Luka's body while keeping a close eye on his supposed companion.

"Ahh, I understand your situation now. Today is Ilias' birthday, so you're to receive your baptism." The monster lord cleverly presumed in a condescending tone.

This reminded Luther of the whole baptism concept and got him thinking. _I never really did get the whole plot point about Luka being depressed for getting baptized. Can't he just do it the next year? Or is it just a cultural thing and you can only receive baptism exactly when you come of age?_

He sighed. _Questions, questions…questions that are absolutely useless to me…_

"That's right, so could please let go of me?" The young hero asked in a pleading tone while also looking directly at Luther, hoping for him to do something, but only saw him slowly shaking his head.

"Ilias baptism…How foolish." The monster dismissed Luka.

"Foolish!?" The purple-haired boy repeated the word in disbelief. It had left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Whatever…Just …Just let me go, alright?" He demanded with a bitter tone, before calming down.

She stared into his eyes, huffed, and after a couple of moments spoke up again.

"Why did you not kill me when I was unconscious?" She curiously questioned, glancing at the boy in her grasp and the man near her. After a couple of silent seconds, Luther decided to respond.

"I'm sorry if I'm not the type of person to go around killing people randomly." Chambers deadpanned with a slight winced once he realized the inner implication of what he just said, earning an annoyed look from Alice. _Besides, she could probably kill me in her sleep._

"Ex-exactly, I didn't know if you were good or bad…There is no way I could just kill you like that," Luka replied, it was strange that this girl had suspected such a thing from him when he hadn't even conceived such an idea, it was wrong to do even!

"Ho… You don't see all monsters as an enemy." She inquired further, the hint of doubt and slight interest stained her voice.

"Certainly there are people who do…" Luka acknowledged before being interrupted, he wasn't a complete fool on such a subject after all the closest example for this was the village he lived in. Growing up there, despite different people being there, there was still fear and hatred for monsters that he personally heard and witnessed.

"But you want to be a hero. Someone who doesn't treat monsters as an enemy, why would you become a hero, whose goal is to kill the Monster Lord? Is it for fame? Ambition? Or...?" The snake girl pushed on with her barrage of questions, she was sure this boy in spite of his innocent appearance had to have some selfish agenda.

"Oh, I don't want to be that kind of hero. I don't even hate the Monster Lord. I just want to stop her from doing evil things." Luka explained, confident in his answer, his resolve was admirable, albeit childish.

His response had made Alice's eye twitch, she had expected something different, even for him to lie, but she heard no falsehoods in his voice.

This boy was really this naïve, this fact frustrated her, she had even forgotten that Luther existed at this moment.

" _What?"_ She questioned Luka; her annoyance was clearly evident in her tone.

"I don't want to kill monsters or even the Monster Lord. I want a world where man and monster can coexist peacefully! If the Monster Lord gets in the way, then I'll just have to defeat her…that's what I swore to myself!" The fake hero declared.

The lamia took a long look at the boy, her face shifted to a more neutral expression.

"You're an idiot." She bluntly stated, no words could describe what Luther felt at the sight of the purple-haired boy's resolve vanishing like air out of a punctured balloon, the scene was almost comedic, and it took three words to crack Luka.

"Guh…W-why am I an idiot!? I just want man and mo-monster to…" Luka tried to keep up the confidence of his beliefs, but he was shut down.

"Believing in an immature view of world peace, with everyone living in harmony with no issues…What is that but idiotic?" The snake girl argued her words cut the boy deep that he found no will to say something back.

"A child doesn't understand the world he's living in…Monsters living hand-in-hand with humans? When are you going to wake up from your dreaming?" The monster chided the boy feigning gentleness.

"But I…" Luka tried to intervene.

"I understand…you still have the mind of a child." Alice sighed as she slowly started to release the fake hero from her snake form.

"Just go…Little boy." She mocked him and lightly patted him on the head, akin to petting a dog.

"Wh..What do you know!? You idiot!" Red-faced Luka swatted her hand away and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

After such a childish outburst Alice could only look at Luther, who was giving her a soulless glare.

Even after a close up with him she never did notice how empty his eyes were, coupled with his judgmental stare managed to disturb her, first the strange smell and now this, just what was this man?

Before the chance of asking came, she already saw the stranger run past her after the naïve boy she shooed away, most likely to console him. This day is going to be more interesting than she thought…

* * *

 _Is it me or was this whole ordeal worse than I remembered happening in the story? It was definitely harsher, was it?_ It didn't take long for Luther to decide to chase after Luka, seeing him get chastised wasn't very fun when you were part of that conversation and not behind a computer screen, besides, he didn't exactly feel safe staying in the same place with Alice alone, he was more comfortable when Luka was around, even if it was a false sense of security, he currently was unable to stop her if she tried anything.

That is if she wanted to do anything to him, he saw how she looked at him with curiosity and…uncertainty, quite contrary to Luka, where she was confident and partly amused. _Although I suppose that's the normal monster's reaction to the boy's presence, that's maybe part of his 'monster magnet' charm, at least that would get the attention off of me._

Chambers knew that Alice was most likely behind him, following or perhaps even ahead of him, either way, it didn't matter, he would meet her at Luka's house, how would he proceed there, will it go just as badly? Thankfully there was one good thing that happened to him, there was a clear dirt road leading him to his destination, but it was longer than the visual novel made out to be, he had to pat past Luther on the back for joining the high school track team. Otherwise, he would be a gasping mess on the ground right now.

 _Speaking about my body condition, goddamn! This rash is killing me._ He was lucky he didn't break down in front of Alice and Luka and start furiously scratching his arm off. It really made him think that something was wrong with his arm, despite his intense urge to scratch his arm looked perfectly fine and the heat that pulsed out of his arm was unquestionably higher than his own body temperature, it felt like there was something living there, under his skin, whatever it was if it was even there and just delusion, was it any way related to him "slashing" the roper in half? If that proved true, should he be grateful or concerned?

If that was the case, he had some ideas of what might have been, but he had neither the time nor the resources to actually test them out, well perhaps one idea was of easy access, as stupid as it sounded to him but it could have been true, after all, he was in a world where one of the main species' primary way of feeding themselves is draining their victims lives through their balls, which was an even more ridiculous concept. Unfortunately, reality doesn't have to follow the feeling of realism, especially not here.

Luther had managed to reach Ilias village in a fairly fast fashion. Ilias village was everything you would expect from a peaceful village in a fantasy setting: clear sunny sky not obscured by the trees, men and women going about their daily life working the fields, managing life stock among other activities, children running out and playing in vast fields. It felt peaceful and quiet compared to the bustling noise of his home city. _I can_ ** _hear_** _the stereotypical happy town music playing in the background, just by looking at all of this._

The only disturbance of this peaceful aura was a distinguished purple blur rushing into a house and slamming the door shut, the stranger already knew who this was. _Guess he was pretty shaken up by the whole debacle with Alice, huh…_

* * *

Luka felt frustrated, depressed, disappointed – his attempt at helping someone ended up with him being chastised for his hopes and dreams for coexistence, and because of that he was late for his baptism, the chance to meet his goddess Ilias and be officially proclaimed a hero, a once in a lifetime opportunity squandered. This was what he got, his reward…

Of course, this was not going to stop him, he may have not gotten Ilias blessing because of a certain minor conflict, but if he was going to stop because of that, then he wasn't worth the title of a hero, a true hero. In Luka's mind the title of a true hero was built on the foundation of self-sacrifice, the capability to give away benefits and comfort so that others may live peacefully if he wasn't able to brush this off, then he will be crushed, later on, he will fail.

Loud knocks on the door broke Luka out of his thoughts, allowing him to compose himself. Who was behind the door? He didn't know the answer to that, but it definitely wasn't Betty, the knocks on the door were loud and heavy-handed. Perhaps it was one of the other villagers. Did his distressing behavior worry them?

He felt guilty; they were all expecting him to receive Ilias blessing and become a great hero, but here he was depressed, sitting in his house. He couldn't disappoint them, as bad as it felt he had to pretend and lie that he had received baptism, he would still go out and had spoken to the goddess directly, so that had to amount to something right?

Preparing himself he opened the door, which he found both relieved and confused him. It wasn't one of the fellow villagers, but Luther, his savior from that slime monster, awkwardly staring at him with cold dead eyes. Luka didn't have to come up with an explanation for his disheartened state after all he saw everything that unfolded with that strong looking monster, which he was glad, but how did he know he lived here? Did he follow him and if so why did he follow him?

"Sorry if this is all of a sudden, may I come in?" Chambers asked politely, which seemed to be unnatural for the man given his unflinching facial expression.

"Sure…" Luka nodded and let the stranger into his house, he was hoping to get some answers out of the man now that they were in a more comfortable place and time frame, neither of them had much pressure put as far as he knew and Luther had seemed to be friendly so far, disregarding his appearance.

As they both moved away from the closed door and looked back they saw a familiar snake-like figure emerge from a dark corner of Luka's house. Wide-eyed Luka gawked in surprise at the unexpected visitor who had an amused grin at the boy's reaction.

Luther could only stare in surprise. _Damn… I didn't think she'd be that fast, I didn't even notice anyone was there._

"Ho- how did y-you?" Luka managed to stammer out before being rudely interrupted.

"How did I get here so fast? Well, that's easy to explain, you're both pathetically slow." Alice smugly stated, causing a slight nearly unnoticeable twitch in Luka's eye. After a couple of seconds, the boy composed himself.

"How did you find my house?" The boy asked and paused looking at Luther as well.

"As convenient as it sounds, I just saw you run into your house, just as I entered the village," Luther responded truthfully and continued passively observe the interactions between Luka and Alice, their conversation went on normally with Luka instinctively avoiding Monster lords powerful stare, they both seemly forgotten he existed, either by choice or by necessity in Luka's case, he couldn't help, but keep his eyes on the monster in front of him.

"Why did you come here?" The question finally came.

"Well…I was just interested, among other things…" She shot a suspicious glance at the third party, who had suddenly gotten quiet. Luther only raised a brow at that. _What's up with her? Did I do something wrong?_

"Besides that, there is something I want to confirm." Alice continued acting as if she hadn't done anything at all.

"Eh..?" Luka's confusion was genuine, the same monster that had compared him to the likeness of a child for his beliefs was now suddenly interested in something relating to him. He had no idea how to respond to her change in attitude, so he decided to push that aside.

"Anyway, this isn't good. I can't let my neighbors see a monster in my house." Luka worried, pointlessly hoping that this monster would just go away.

"Why are you here anyway? I'm already depressed that I couldn't receive my baptism…If you came here to make fun of me more…" Luka had begun to suspect that this change in outlook might just be dishonesty just to agitate him.

"Hah…hearing that was one of the reasons I came. So, Ilias didn't appear for baptism." A strange smile appeared on her face which served to only peeve the short boy further.

"I owed her for giving me so many wounds…" She gestured at certain parts of her body, which on closer inspection had several cuts and bruises that were already fading from her form.

"Goddess that created the world…how stupid." Alice resentfully remarked, the desire to take revenge was clearly evident in her tone of voice.

"Eh…? What do you mean?" Luka stopped for a moment, his mind connecting the dots until the realization hit him.

"You… what did you do?" The boy muttered out his voice coated in confusion and slight fear.

The monster lord's smile changed into a serious gaze at the moment, Luther and Luka felt the air around them grow cold. Luther closed his eyes anticipating the moment where she would use her mind-control if Luka refused.

"Food." It was simple demand that seemingly created an echo across the purple-haired boy's house.

"Huh?" Luka was puzzled with her sudden request, did she seriously just snuck into his house avoiding his neighbors just to ask for food?

"Give me some food. Make yourself useful." She continued with her demand, like a pompous royal dealing with an unruly servant.

"…" Luka paused, lamenting the current happening of his life, first, he almost loses to a slime, then he gets wakes a monster who chastised him, leading to him failing to show up to his baptism, and then the same monster showed up to his house with a demand for him to feed her! _What did I ever do to deserve this?_

"I guess I have no choice." Luka gave in, he knew he couldn't do anything about her, despite the fact he couldn't gauge her strength, and she had emanated an aura of power that demanded respect, something that no one should oppose. He reached into his travel bag and pulled out a dried piece of meat.

"Dried meat." Luka presented the piece of dried meat to the monster, his voice being as dry as the piece of jerky he was holding.

"Dried meat..." Alice repeated back in disappointment, the boy had not even managed to not reach her already low expectations.

"You make me sick…Oh well. I'm tired…I'll just have it as an appetizer I guess." Sighing, she took the piece of meat out of his hand chewed with an unhappy look on her face, but the expression lightened once she savored the taste.

"Hmm…It's not too bad after all. The seasoning and spices were done well…it complements the meat." Alice complimented.

"Really? I practiced how to cook in preparation for my journey. I'll need to know how to cook for when I set up camp… …though I wasn't able to become a hero." Luka explained letting his shoulders drop, questioning if any of the skills he learned were even worth it.

"Hmm…oh well. I guess I'm fine with just the appetizer. I guess the main dish won't be necessary." A noticeable lip smack rang out across the interior. Making Luther inwardly cringe, hearing this first-hand for the man was awful, especially after nearly escaping death at hands of a sadistic monster.

"Eh…? Main dish?" Luka muttered, there was momentary confusion within him until a shiver went, down his spine, he finally understood what she had meant.

"So why else did you come here? Are you going to make fun of me for not becoming a hero?" The boy accused, slowly preparing himself for another verbal assault.

"Hrm…I guess I said too much earlier. You just sounded so childish…I couldn't help myself, that's why I wanted to clear the air on something." Despite Luka's expectations the monster didn't gloat or make fun of him for his idealism, she was completely serious.

"I've traveled around the world and seen plenty of things. While your childishness is idiotic…It is a good thing." Alice complimented, her expression making it unclear whether she actually meant it or not.

"….."The purple-haired hero stared at her in dead silence.

"What? I'm comforting you. What's with that face?" The lamia irritably glared at the eroge protagonist, clearly offended by his unresponsive state.

"Eh? C…Comforting?" Luka wasn't exactly sure if calling him childish again should be comforting in any way.

"Anyway, what are going to do after this? Surely you aren't going to give up on your journey." Alice inquired.

"Just as planned, I am going to defeat the monster lord. Even if I'm not a hero, I'll still leave." The boy declared, despite surprising confidence in his voice there was an air of slight unease surrounding him.

"Hahaha…that's good. In fact, I'm little interested in you…" It wasn't a lie. There are many things that made Luka interesting: his mindset, while naïve was fresh compared to thinking and hatred of humans and even monsters, and most obviously he has a strange presence, it was faint, but something was there and it definitely intrigued her.

"Interested? ...in me?" Luka questioned, he didn't know how to react to such a powerful monster like her being interested in him, it could mean bad things.

"That's right. You're interesting. You're able to say such a ridiculous thing as 'I want monsters and humans to coexist' so confidently. "Alice affirmed her interest.

"It's isn't ridiculous. I'll truly make it happen! I'll definitely show you it can be done!" Luka proclaimed, there was no way he was going to let her stifle his desire to see his ideal come to fruition any further.

"Hahaha…How long can you hold on to that belief? I'll follow you on your journey to watch when that delusion wears off." The monster lord taunted, clearly amused by his sureness, something that will most likely whittle away in time in this cruel world she was sure, although a part of her hoped it wouldn't.

"Eh? On my journey?" This was not something he was expecting out of her, the only question he had was why? Where had all this interest come from?

"I was going to travel the world, I might as well travel around with you." The lamia explained.

"…Do whatever you want, even if I said no, I wouldn't be able to drive you off, would I?" Realizing there was no way he could drive her off, let alone escape, he surrendered.

"Ah, that wouldn't be possible. With your power, there's no way you would be able to drive me off." Alice agreed.

"…." Luka thought about his situation, regardless of the circumstances he was glad he had some company, every hero needed one or more, besides a journey alone isn't much of a satisfying journey.

"If I may interrupt…that journey of yours may I tag along as well?" Luther finally decided to step into the conversation that was hijacked by Alice.

"Uhh…" Luka was slightly stunned, what's with this day? What's next, his mother secretly an angel? Sure Luther might have saved him, but ultimately he was a stranger that was asking such a thing out of the blue. He wasn't sure, unlike the monster, he had a choice in the matter and his suddenness was off-putting.

Luther grimaced as he looked at their reactions. Alice was staring at him suspiciously while Luka was deep in thought. He blamed neither of them, he did after all seem rather closed off… _Alright bad start already, let's try something._

"Guess that was a little too sudden…I haven't even explained myself and barely even know me, except my name." The man nervously chuckled.

"Indeed…" The monster stated. Luther felt like her gaze pierced him down to his soul, whatever discomfort he was feeling he forced it down.

"To start, I come from Sentora, from a long line of minor adventures and I'm somewhat of a wanderer myself, but my presence here isn't exactly my doing. For you see a storm hit a ship I was traveling on and it ended up sinking it, with me barely surviving with some of my belongings, and now I just wander this continent." Chambers weaved together a lie, it wasn't the most impressive one he had come up with in his life, the ability to create falsehoods became common practice when living a tough childhood.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Alice and Luka appeared to have been satisfied with his explanation, although he knew the lamia in question still held strange suspicion of him if eased a little bit. _Well mother, guess you were useful for one thing._

"So… you're stuck here?" Luka asked.

"Yes… I don't have any means to go back, so I am asking for help, you are going to Sentora, I swear I will repay in some way!" Luther mentally slapped himself once he uttered those last words. _Damn it! Why did I say that? How the hell I'm going to repay, I have nothing!_

"N-No it's ok-"Luka had only managed to stutter out before being interrupted by Alice. Before that, he did realize something. _That's why he was so hesitant to tell me anything, it wasn't exactly a good situation to be in._

"So then Luka, what will it be? _Will you help this poor man out_ or will you leave him here to rot on this continent?" The monster lord asked, teasing grin on her face, this was but the beginning of multiple tests to come in the fake hero's journey if he managed to survive that long.

"I will help you! What's a hero if he doesn't help those in need?" Luka declared, despite the scary frown the stranger carried, Luther proved himself to be a more pleasant individual than Alice, he hasn't tried to crush his dreams or make fun of them, and besides he did help him with the slime as embarrassing as that encounter was.

"Thank you…" Chambers relaxed, his plan worked, but this was only the start, who knows what might happen. He could still enjoy this small victory in the sea of losses.

"Then it's settled, I'm alright with you two following me and I'll prove to you that my conviction is real!" Luka pointed at Alice, who had a challenging smirk on her face. Even if it was temporary Luther's company did serve to ease Luka of Alice's presence.

"Anyway, what's your name, I never did ask." The fake hero lowered his hand.

"Alipheese Fateburn, but I'll allow you to call me Alice." Alice straightened upright towering over Luka as if noblewomen standing proudly at the mere mention of her name.

"Alice… that doesn't really fit you…" Luka continued to ramble unaware that he was publicly proclaiming his thoughts, Alice's snake half twitched and tightened, imaging the sensation of choking the boy for his offense.

"Alice, huh? Sounds noble…" At Luther's words, the lamia's tail relaxed.

"You should really watch what you say… an _unreasonable_ monster might have strangled you for saying such a thing." The monster _warned_ Luka with an unnerving smile on her face.

"Ack! Sorry…" The boy swallowed a lump in his throat, she heard everything he said and obviously wasn't pleased by it.

"Well then…shall we head out?" Luka asked the group, he had a more confident look on his face assuring himself that he will complete his quest, he has to…

"Alice, can you go out the back door? If the villagers see you there will be chaos. We can meet back up once we're outside the village." The boy requested.

"That's fine, causing a commotion would give me a headache anyway. I'll wait outside the village." The lamia complied.

"Well then…I'm heading out, mother." With Luther already leaving, Luka sorrowfully wished his last goodbyes to the house that was once hers.

"Before leaving I should say goodbye to the village, It will be a long time before they see me again…" The purple-haired hero explained, getting a knowing nod from the man beside him.

"If you want to, you can follow me, but you can just wait here." He further added.

"I'll be fine with waiting… this is more personal to you, so I won't intrude," Chamber responded, part of him truly meant it and part of him wanted some time away from Luka's or Alice's eyes, there was something he needed to test.

As ridiculous as it might have been If Luther was correct, he wouldn't be completely defenseless if he got separated from them someway. That would end badly, well depending on one's opinion, certainly not Luther's. His sole goal was to get back to his own world…somehow. _It does not hurt to have precautions._

 _Huh? He already left._ The stranger looked to the side. The space his ally occupied was vacant, leaving him some ample opportunity.

He grabbed a rock from the nearby road, sneakily shuffled, and hugged a nearby wall making sure he was in an area where no one could see him.

He gripped the jagged stone, his fingers squeezing and feeling the coerce surface, the protrusions not sharp enough to cut him, but enough to cause mild discomfort. This was it, the thing that would determine if he was completely dependent on his new allies. He had nothing against them, but you can't always rely on others, can you? You might find yourself in an unpleasant situation.

_Spin._

The word riverbed within his mind, like an echo in the mountain field, but the rock as if mocking remained still.

The unmoving stone didn't frustrate him, he has already prepared himself for this outcome, and there was the only disappointment. Although he wasn't about to give up. _It's not just going to work if you just say spin your mind like that. That's not how the world works. If that was the case I would be happily at home with my family…_

Luther frowned at the rock he was holding. So much so as any passerby observing would assume he would be plotting the assassination of every pebble in the world. _Okay…Okay how did Johnny do this?_

 _Right! He imagined a leaf spinning in the wind._ With this, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

 _Step one._ The man tuned out his surroundings, only paying mind to the soft breeze blowing around him and tickling his skin. He imagined a small wind similar to the breeze in front of him, visualizing it.

 _Step two_. The rock he was holding wasn't exactly a light leaf, but he just had to trick himself. Pay no attention to the discomfort. _There is no stone…only foliage_.

 _Step three._ Chambers slowly released the strong grip he had on the leaf, leaving free air to spin in reaction to wind.

He opened his eyes, rock remained in the same position it was originally, not moving a single inch. _Guess it's too good to be true._

Luther knew this wasn't exactly possible, what were the odds that power from a manga could be used in another universe completely unrelated to it – slim to none. Though, it didn't explain the more than the unpleasant encounter with the roper… he could try again, no harm came to him from this, he still had time. Luther still had one idea of how to use it.

Closing his eyes, Luther discarded the leaf analogy, instead, he focused on the memory of the very thing that brought him here…the damned sphere. As unpleasant as it was he scrounge up images of it. The ball of unnatural light with rings that looked so innocent, beautiful even, yet he knew the true nature of it.

 _Strangely it could be compared to the spin itself- beautiful, yet dangerous._ He mused.

Chambers imagined it in his hands, floating and posing no threat to him.

He was fine, there was no threat. _I'm okay, I'm okay. My arms are not breaking…_

 **There** … a sensation that couldn't fully be described as just movement hovered gently across his hand, a sensation that felt as if it was a part of him, yet at the same time outside, it felt like there was a small thread resonating and connecting between him and the object he was holding.

He felt it all, and now he saw it. The rock that once refused to move was now spinning on one of its axes, smoothly gliding along with his hand. Luther found it hard to believe this was happening; he was using a mystical technique of an Italian executioner family. _I did it! I can't believe this! Finally, something good is happening to me..._

At this point Luther couldn't help but smile, even let out a mad chuckle a bit, despite the rapid movement in his joyful state the spinning rock remained stable, almost magnetized to his hand. _This ability could mean a lot or little, depending on how far I'm able to use it..._

 _Now the main problem now is, how do I stop it?_ The stone in his hand continued to spin and it showed no sign of stopping. Luther slowly clamped his hand around it, distancing his focus away from the rotation.

His attempt worked, the impossibly graceful movement of the object in question had stopped, along with the sensation he felt, the thread was cut off and he didn't miss a single detail of its absence. _Now, that is certainly very interesting...although I probably should get going otherwise they just might leave here._

Drawing out a long breath, he inconspicuously leaned off the wall and put the stone in his bag. Clearly satisfied with his results he strolled on the same dirt road where he had picked up the rock, unaware of his own smiling face.

"Oh good you're here, I thought you left me." Luther turning saw the familiar purple hair of a certain eroge protagonist.

"Of course, I told you I would wait." Chambers assured his new ally. "I assume you already finished your business here."

"Mhm, I can't believe I'm already heading out, although I will miss them…" Luka deflated, trying to seem as small as possible.

"No one can scorn you for that, moreover you'll be able to meet them again, prove them proud eventually." Chamber's words put the boy at ease affirming his decision.

"Yeah, you're right! Besides I'm not traveling alone, I have you by my side." Luther noted the lack of mention of Alice. _Ah right… at the very start, they're not very friendly to each other, I can't really blame him. Alice didn't exactly make a good first impression with Luka._

"Shall we?" The man gestured towards the road leading out of the village.

"Let's go!" The young hero proclaimed at the start of their journey.

"Something good happened? You seem pleased with yourself" Luka inquired at his companion's sudden change in demeanor. Luther stopped for a moment touching his face and feeling the unconscious smile.

"Guess it d-"

"Took you long enough! What were you doing anyway?" Appearing out of thin air a frowning Alice interrupts Luther.

"I had to say goodbye to everyone, I can't just leave unannounced."

"Fine, let's just go already…" Luka's response appeared to calm the monster's frustration, only getting a simple nod of understanding.

With that, they were off on their adventure…

* * *

**Ilias POV**

Her plan was already coming along just nicely, even with the inclusion of **HER** and that man nothing would change, she was sure of it.

Alice will fall at the hands of Luka and he will join her side when the time comes for recreation of the world.

And what of that man? Luther, she believed the name was… his soul was certainly interesting, nothing that could be compared to her or even her angels' power, but certainly more powerful than the average human, not much to be proud of.

A strong worm is still a worm.

What's more interesting was what was happening within that soul?

She is a goddess, as old as the universe itself, she is capable of looking at the world in ways even her creations can't comprehend.

So when she looked into his soul, she saw _it_.

A pathetic parasite shifting, crawling around...it was aware of her gaze.

It was aware of her…

She didn't want to believe what she saw.

It was a small spark that shined for a moment, enough to almost avert her attention.

A spark that challenged her...

Oh… how much did she want to _tear that man apart and rip that thing out that DARED to challenge her, a goddess!_

But she didn't…

The host will die and so shall the parasite. Either by the monsters, he will face or he will be consumed by the parasite itself.

She just had to wait…


	3. Diameter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a crack chapter mixed in to the story on FF.net version, I was undecided whether I wanted to add it considering how much it interrupts the story.

Luther was bored.

Well, bored wouldn't be the exact term for what he was currently feeling, how could one describe a state where one was both anxious, yet at the same time so disinterested with his surroundings. The new group he was a part of was walking along a dirt road, despite his uneasy thoughts telling him this is going to end badly, the relative calmness remained.

 _I think the game failed to mention the actual travel time._ Luther sorrowed. He had the unfortunate pleasure of finding out what happened between those long travel times, from awkward small talk to torturous silence. Failing to think about that traveling actually takes the time he made the mistake of thinking he will be rushing into all of this and it all be over, but here he was, silently suffering. This was too naïve for him to assume such a thing.

However he wasn't the only one in discomfort, Luka was having an unpleasant time as well, he didn't know how to act around the powerful monster; it seemed as if the aura she exuded forced him to be silent. What would he say? How can he even relate to her? His savior's aloof demeanor certainly didn't help. The boy expected the man to make it easier to travel, someone to relate to, but his companion had no interest in speaking to him, despite the previous friendly encounters.

Alice didn't seem to be too bothered by it, observing them in a predatory fashion, unnerved both males present.

Luther needed a distraction; he needed to do something to stave off this encroaching dullness before desperation came over him to do something drastic. Remembering the rock he stashed in his bag he pulled it out to observe. Despite the use of the spin, the rock remained ordinary; there was nothing that would suggest it was being used to perform ancient techniques.

Luther remembered the feeling, how the rock stayed magnetized to his hand, gliding neatly above it. Disobeying any laws of physics that hundreds of people spent their lives trying to understand and document, admittedly it would've felt amazing and puzzling, where it would not be overshadowed by his presence in another world. At least he had some sense on how he could use it, he had read the manga, he knew what it was capable of, how far it could go…the problem is that he needed a horse for its full potential. Even if you ignore the fact of where he would get one, there were still plenty of issues.

 _Uhh…Damn it…_ Chambers lamented. Firstly, he didn't know how to ride the horse let alone even have the time to learn, even in his adventurous period he never considered trying out the hobby and he certainly will not try now. Secondly, he doubted whether he would have enough space to try anything, and lastly, his enemies most likely wouldn't let him ride one so easily.

"Oh, Ilias…Did you really abandon me?" Breaking out of this silence Luka hopelessly asked, but to no avail only feeling a weak wind brush against his face.

"I waited for today for so long…and I wasn't able to be baptized in the end…" As if speaking to the air he lamented his troubles. Although he might have started his journey he still felt apprehensive like it was the sign of what's to come. Luther finally came out of his pondering and looked around his surroundings.

"Isn't it better to not have been baptized? I don't understand why humans want to be slaves to Ilias." Alice, clearly bothered by the boy's desperate need, affirms her beliefs.

"Being a Hero has a lot of perks, you know. You get the respect of the people, cheap rates at inns, and you can even walk into people's houses and take stuff." Luka confidently explained, without seeing the logic in his statement.

"Walk into people's houses and take things…? Are you a thief or something?" Alice questioned with a visible frown. This caused him to pause for a moment and consider his previous explanation.

"Er no…It's not quite like that." It seemed as if Luka himself didn't know what he said. Thoughts of those who abused that right surfaced in his mind.

"But most importantly, they get divine protection from Ilias. If you come across any evil monster, she will defend you." In truth that was the only thing Luka ever wanted from the baptism, to know his will always watch over him.

"The semen of a baptized human taste awful. So monsters aren't as likely to attack them." Alice bluntly remarked, leaving Luka only to the slow and shocking realization that the blessing that he was hoping to get wasn't all that he was promised.

"Ehh…is that how it works?" Luka could only mumble. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You didn't know that? Baptized people taste like Angel Liver…not very appetizing." She clarified, shooting a confused look for a second at them.

"…." Both Luka and Luther were quiet, they didn't want to know how or why the monster in question knew that.

Luther was yet again reminded of the nature of this world, the sadism and degeneracy that permeated across the land, it did make him wonder. _In this world humans aren't at the top of the food chain, they are prey to monsters and occasionally angels, so much so it makes one question as to why humans have that trait of Critical Ecstasy. You'd think from an evolutionary standpoint humans would evolve to be more resistant not weak such things, but no. I have a feeling there was some divine intervention going on…Oh well, that's one of the rules, I suppose, can't really do anything about it…_

…

 _Rules…that I have to follow? How far did they affect me? I mean thinking about it, I did overpower a monster, though it might have been a simple slime girl, such a thing is very rare in this world, and almost all humans can't match up with monsters in terms of strength. Hmm…_ Chambers looked to his company and saw Luka holding out a map, mumbling to himself.

 _Am I even affected by Critical Ecstasy? I mean, I'm not from this world._ He shook his head. _I don't even want to find out..._

Tuning the rest of the conversation out the man looked forward to the dirt road waiting. He knew what was to come, Luka will have to face the slug monster, this was his fight. Luther didn't feel like intervening, even with his new abilities he didn't want to fight, especially after his previous experience.

There!

The stranger spotted a vague shape of what looked to be a well-dressed lady to the unknowing approaching them, but he knew better and had no intention of facing her. Once the monster was at a certain distance Chambers without warning dashed and plunged into the nearby grassy area startling Luka.

"He seems to have the right idea…" Alice vanished into thin air leaving Luka alone to face his second encounter.

"Huh..? Alice! Luther!" Luka shouted and looked around, but no one appeared or answered, it was just him and the slug girl that just approached him.

"What is that…?" The fake hero asked himself, a part of him dreading the answer already. The slug monster looked onward at Luka with interest.

"…A traveler? Not baptized, either. You look delicious." The slug edged closer towards Luka, her eyes filled with lust. She sniffed the air, catching the scent of another human nearby.

"Oh...? I can smell your friend as well, did he abandon you? ~don't worry I'll take good care of you~." She flashed a teasing smile at the pint-sized hero as she rose up her "dress" revealing the rest of her slug body. Swallowing the lump in his throat he pulled out his sword and readied his stance, intuition told him that he wouldn't be able to reason with this being.

"Take this!" Hesitant as he was, Luka still took the initiative clumsily slicing his sword at the monster's abdomen, but the sword stops as its blade bites into the slime, forcing the fake hero to pull back. Despite the slime covering the sword, the slug monster appeared to have suffered no physical damage.

"No way…my attack…" The boy uttered in disbelief.

"You can't cut me with such a weak attack." The monster grin only winded as she stared down at Luka with a predatory gaze.

"Cr…Crap…what should I do?" He was beginning to doubt if he was even able to do anything to her.

"I'll give you a taste of my sticky mucus." The slug monster said as she brushed off the slime of her body and slowly spread it over Luka's crotch area forcing to retreat back, his bottom half was now drenched in mucus, it was a very strange feeling.

"Well then if a slash doesn't work… how about a stab?" Ignoring the strange feeling the fake hero pulling back his sword lunged forward towards his adversary's chest hoping to finally scare off the monstrous woman.

"It's useless…" She muttered, her body proving to be incredibly elastic as the iron blade simply bounced off her from the aftershock, leaving Luka on the ground.

"Dammit…" If only he was a little bit stronger he could pierce her, he felt that almost got her before her body repelled his sword. He tried getting up but…

"I'll get on top of you with this slug body!" She declared ramming him further to the ground and preventing any chance for him to get up without a struggle.

Already behind a tree Luther sat there and watched it unfold feeling a slight pang of guilt coercing through his mind for just leaving him there. He saw the dejected look Luka had when he thought both Luther and Alice abandoned him. Even if he wasn't much of a sensitive guy he has had an eye for such things, he saw how the boy struggled against the monster, his attacks doing nothing, but amusing the strange woman and now he is pinned to the ground with the monster weight riding on top of him. The boy looked hopeless…

 _I have to do something about this, don't I?_ He felt the same emotions of when he had almost faced death at the roper's tentacles well up inside of him, and for the second time he gave in to them. _Besides, it would be a good first test for the spin, and isn't she resistant anyway?_

He clutched the rock in his hand tightly, his cold hatred showing through as he let slow steady breath and began to focus conjuring up the vision of an anomalous sphere, the true feeling of the spin he tugged at the object he was holding. It wasn't instant. It was going to take time…

_One…_

_Two…_

_Come on, three…_

… _Come on…_

The rock began to spin as the energy roared to life, spinning faster and faster. A deadly smirk crossed his cheeks, he was sure that this was going to do something, if not it would at least serve as a distraction for Luka. He felt the rotational energy generated tickle his skin, almost like it begged to be released somewhere. _Here it goes!_

"Huh?" The Slime girl stopped, looking around before averting her gaze to the rustling bush, seeing a tall figure pop out of it. _So this where the friend was, did he come here to watch?_

What she didn't expect was the figure to throw a spinning rock at her. It glided out his hand and admittedly looked as if going to gently fall down, but immediately picked up speed rocketing towards the intended target's face almost cutting through the air and disappearing into a blur for the slug monster. It hit her before even Luka or she could comprehend what happened.

For a moment, the stone remained to dig into monster skin before fully releasing the built-up energy throwing the monster off of the fake hero and into a nearby tree, completely knocking her out. The rock losing all of its force fell down covered in slime and mucus. Strangely a part of him felt disappointed, he didn't understand it until his mind fully paced through what happened.

He sighed…there were several reasons why he was dissatisfied with the spin he created, even though it did so much. Compared to Gyro there were so many things his rotation was lacking. Firstly the object he threw didn't return to his hand, which is most likely the easiest issue to figure out, the trajectory he simply was throwing didn't allow the spin to bounce. Secondly was a more pressing problem. The time and focus it took him to prepare one rotation couldn't work in a combat situation, the time isn't as bothersome as the fact he has to blindsight himself. He was quite lucky Luka didn't give in to the monster then and there. Now, there was a thing for sure if he ever wanted to get out of this place alive.

_I have to get better..._

Luther walked up to the now standing Luka, his legs shaky most likely still from the force of the slug monster. The fake hero looked at his companion who was avoiding his gaze looking towards the sky. Beside him, Alice appeared, she had seen everything, from Luka's attempt to fight to the spinning finale. What's more extraordinary was the disturbing look she was giving Luther, quite uncharacteristic of her.

"What was th-" The fake hero tried to ask before being interrupted by

"What. Was. That!" With each word she "stood" up higher and higher over Luther, attempting to regain the intimidating appearance she lost. Luther looked towards both of his companions; he saw the furious face of Alice and the extremely concerned look of Luka.

 _Oh…shit_ he just used a technique that doesn't technically exist in this universe, he just didn't understand Alice's stare, unless… Unless she could tell the potential of this ability, she was very skilled and powerful after all.

"Uh…I just have a strong throwing arm," Luther muttered this earned a strong squeeze from Alice's snake tail forcing the air of his lungs.

"Don't you mock me! That wasn't just a simple throw." Alice scowled, she knew better that it wasn't a simple throw, even if the man before did have the amount of strength required for such an effect, and she very much doubted that it still didn't explain that strange energy…

"Alice there's no need for this! I'm sure he could just tell us if we let him…" The purple-haired boy intervened silently hoping that the lamia would listen to him. However, he wanted to know as well, what his friend is capable of. He managed to take out that monster with a rock... while his attacks did nothing.

After a moment, Alice complied with the fake hero's plea, impatiently waiting for answers from Luther who was trying to catch his breath, he did not want to provoke her further. He knew what to say.

"It's just a technique my family developed. It's supposed to be a secret that is why I don't want to talk about it." He couldn't afford this many screw-ups, so he had to carefully build his lies like a house of cards; he just had to make sure not to push too much.

"Such a technique from a minor line of adventures, really...?" Alice seemed skeptical, her gaze not leaving a second away from the man, it was really hard to believe such a power spike from the human, yet it was so contained…

"There is a reason for that, this secrecy works, they don't attract much attention and get their lives uninterrupted, so can we please drop this?" Luther hoped that this would stop this interrogation; a small silence passed leaving Luther to check the laying monster's condition.

She seemed fine for someone who was just knocked out. Her breathing was normal and she had suffered no other damage than a small scar on her delicate face where the rock hit her. Luther felt no guilt for this. _I'm not a nice guy._

"She is still breathing…" Chambers finished observing the unconscious slug, then reached for the rock that put her in such a state, he stopped. _I don't think I want that rock back anymore._

"Why…why did you leave me, were you scared?" That question was etched into Luka's mind the moment the fight began, the slug only made it clearer. Luther stiffened.

"I don't want to be seen by any monsters." She crossed her arms indignantly. Did this boy assume she, The Monster Lord was afraid of a low-level monster? Someone who couldn't even hope to reach her level. Just what was this dim-witted boy thinking?

The man was at a crossroads, he didn't exactly know what to tell the boy that wouldn't jeopardize his position by saying outright that he didn't want to fight, he wasn't Alice, he couldn't force Luka to travel with him.

"This is supposed to be your journey, not mine, I don't want to fight much…I will however interfere if you ever find yourself in real trouble, besides looking at the way you fight, you need as much experience as possible if you ever want to improve." Chambers tried to make up an adequate excuse to mostly avoid involving himself in whatever business Luka will go through.

"Yes, what a horrendous fighting style! Tell me, what were you going to do if you even managed to get her off you?" The monster lord sardonically asked.

"Oh don't worry! I had a plan." Luka sheepishly smiled avoiding Alice's amused stare.

"You were going to throw the salt, won't you?" Luther asked, it was more of a rhetorical question, even if he might have not known how this fight went on it was pretty to discern Luka's course of actions nonetheless if you had a general idea of the boy's belongings.

"I was going to throw the salt, yes…" Luka confidently confirmed it was his last course of action; the salt was the only thing on him that could damage and scare off the slug girl, he was sure of it.

"Except then we wouldn't have anything to season the food, you idiot!" She yelled out which startled the purple-haired boy, was his livelihood really less important than food? Was she that gluttonous?

"Guh…Then why didn't you just help me?"

"I'm similar to Luther in this case, I'm just an observer, however, if ever either of you fails I'll just leave you to whatever fate the monster in question decided upon you." The lamia explained showing little to no regard for their lives.

"…I get it." He glared. "I don't need your help anyway!"

"I'm glad you understand, just do what you can. Now, more importantly, the sun is setting, it's time to set up camp." She replied seemingly crassly of the fake hero's irritation.

"By the way, what are we having for dinner?" This question only made Luka groan.

* * *

It didn't take that long to set up camp, with the addition of Luther's help Luka was quite quick to make a tent and light the fire. Luther had previous experiences with camping when he was vacationing, some of them ended well and some of them not so much, even if he was working with outdated equipment he got around quickly.

 _What the hell…this guy is some serious chef wiz._ He was currently eating the _salted_ omelet that Luka made. It was almost the best food he ever had, almost…granted the boy was cooking with a campfire and a pan, he was able to do just that with so little, he would be incredible with modern world instruments.

 _The modern world._ As a soft breeze flew by Chambers leaned further against the tree. There was one cost of his modern world that came apparent when he entered this world; he only just realized this now. This world was incredibly clean, or so to say, the balance between oxygen and carbon-based gases was not disturbed by pollution, a side effect of the medieval period this world mostly belonged even with the existence of magic, with few obvious exceptions. Nature lived here completely undisturbed. If it wasn't for the circumstances he would find himself enjoying the current state of it.

"Ah! I'm stuffed…" Luka exhaled, he had eaten a lot for his size, although nothing compared to his gluttonous companion, who seemingly was a black hole of nothing but food.

"The omelet and the herbs mix quite well and the salt completes it, I have to say you're a good chef…if only you were as good with a sword." She told her compliment-insult as she savored the omelet which garnered a mixed reaction from the fake hero.

"Where did you learn the technique? It's so horrible, it pains me to watch." Alice whined remembering the awful display of swordsmanship.

"What are you saying, Alice…I've been training for more than five years…" His words came out quite slowly, trying to fathom the thought that the amount of time he dedicated wasn't nearly enough.

"Five years? I thought that was your time…Just what were you wasting your time doing?" The monster lord asked voice filled faux horror and utter disappointment.

"I learned it from pilgrims who came to visit the temple. I mixed the different things into my own style…" The purple-haired boy explained. Alice nodded completely learning the severity of the boy's "training".

"Crappy skills learned from crappy people will be crappy even if combined." Especially if combined, if you weren't some sort of genius all those styles of combat combined will have all the weaknesses and none of the strengths.

"Alright." She sighed. "I'll teach you a little."

"It's alright, you don't need to. Learning swordplay from a monster seems odd, too." Luka declined as politely as he could. As a hero he will be facing monsters mostly, it would be very awkward for him if he was using moves learned from a monster to fight monsters. Luther shuffled around, thinking the boy was a moron for not accepting such an offer in the first place, particularly after almost experiencing two-game overs.

_Lesson two..._

"Luka…here is a little lesson to help you on your way." He pointed at the boy, not really caring how he seemed to both of them, sighing he relayed a lesson that any good Shonen protagonist should take to heart. "Work those muscles."

"Eh?"

"I don't mean it literally, not exactly." The man stood up. "Think about it, out of every encounter you had until this point I was the one to save you, isn't it frustrating to you?"

"I agree, at this point, it seems this is Luther's journey rather than yours if seeing the way you deal with that Slug girl has anything to say about it." Alice's comment seemed to drive the message harder for Luka.

"I…" The boy stopped, slumping down. His Inadequacy welled up, he was supposed to be the hero, and here he was getting saved multiple times. Could he really not fight anyone without any help? Would he have failed so quickly?

"It's simple really… if you want to achieve your dream you have to build yourself up, to not be reliant on others when the time comes, Alice is giving you the perfect opportunity to do so." Luther finally explained, Luka considered his words carefully and nodded in agreement. He had to get stronger for the sake of himself and this world.

"Ah…Your right! I have to get stronger if I want to beat the monster lord and bring coexistence. I accept your training Alice." He stated with increased vigor, perhaps his scaly companion won't be as bothersome as first thought.

"Know your way around words? And here I thought he was going to be stubborn about this, I can train you as well if you want, it would be really boring if either of you lose to a monster this quickly, maybe I can give you A few pointers with that 'family technique' of yours." She smirked, clearly amused; it would be a chance to learn how his powers work.

"Yeah, maybe you can show us how to do it!" Luka for all of his naivety managed to figure out and unintentionally spoil The Monster Lord's plan. He simply wanted to know more about his companion and…learn his potentially powerful technique, but that came second.

Luther froze for a moment, turning away to hide his frown. _Nice try although a bit too much Alice..._

"No… I have to train with this myself, thank you for the offer anyway." It was the last thing Luther said before disappearing deeper into the woods.

' _Work those muscles'._ She chuckled as she watched him walk away. _Luther…You are certainly an intriguing person along with Luka, I think I made the right choice traveling with them._

* * *

 _I should practice what I preach…I really should…_ Luther drew out a long breath, thoughts on improving the spin weighed heavy on his mind, he knew the irony of the previous conversation, and in truth, he would be the one relying on Luka, which was his very plan. Those were just lucky encounters… But now he had a weapon, ability that had so much potential and was already quite strong. He just needed to improve.

 _Just need to improve my focus…_ He grabbed a rock from the ground, this time he was glad, it was more rounded and less jagged than the previous one. Looking at it he focused, trying to release the power of the spin once again.

 _Yes…this will not do._ And again he was reminded of the shortcomings of his technique, it took him a considerable amount of time to perform it, and had lost himself in the rotation, so much so everything appeared to not exist, nothing at all…no movement, no creatures or animals, but that was far from the reality, he had failed to see and feel the bright red bird landing on a tree in front of him, the winds' lowly howl, the trees rustling. All of his senses deadened just to create one rotation.

There was a nagging feeling within him, a specter from the past that itched its way into his mind and burrowed deep, it gripped him. He was perplexed, to say the least, how could one hope to focus on something he didn't understand? How could he focus on something that threw everything he knew about his world out the window? It nagged and nagged, the man needed to figure this phenomenon out. He stopped the rotation.

"The spin, what do I know about it?" As simple as the question sounded, the answer was a lot more complicated. One could take away all of its backstory and references and you had a very bare explanation of the mechanics, appearance-wise it seemed to be simply the Magnus effect, but that was not it. As he held the rotating stone he knew it was more than that...

Chambers needed to formalize what he knew, in some notes preferably. He opened his bag and looked through some of his files hoping to find some empty notebook or paper. _Let see here…My paper on genetic trait replication…no…not that._

 _There you are._ Pulling out a notebook he observed it. It was normal quality writing material, the paper of average quality was covered by a hard plastic see-through cover that conveniently held a brightly colored pen. The pages were completely empty, this notebook was new. He didn't know whether he had forgotten such a thing in his bag or simply left it there for convenience's sake, but it didn't matter much.

It took him only a couple of minutes to run out of water from the spring of information that was his brain, writing only some small facts; like it disobeying conservation of energy and producing more than it was using, if it even was using anything at all to create a rotation and a small illustration of a spinning ball.

The only things that were left were some hypotheses that he could test, it wouldn't take much effort and might help establish some laws, if not, simply understand it better, which would get rid of that nagging sensation. _Everything has rules and most could be understood._

 _Hypothesis number 1: Any object can be affected with a spin._ He wrote down since he already knew the results of spinning smaller more round objects he had tried it on bigger and irregular things. Luther walked to a nearby tree and held out his hand touching the rough bark of the plant. All he needed to do was concentrate…

_One…_

_Two…_

_Three…_

_And nothing…_ The bark or any other part of the did not react, the disappointment felt like staring into a drying brick wall, a leafy and natural brick wall, but a brick wall nonetheless. He tested the spin on the rock drawing upon the same sensation, it had worked. Sighing he reached for the notebook and marked it off as a failure.

The next object was rather irregular as a choice was his coat; it was large and an unusual object as a candidate for the spin, a perfect choice, although he was risking his large piece of clothing being potentially ripped, it was nothing but a worthy sacrifice in the name of science.

 _And nothing…_ Like the tree he experimented on, the coat refused to rotate and stayed still, only moving in response to the wind. The stranger didn't understand, there were many instances in the manga where things were affected by the spin. He was missing something. He knew that as he glanced at the rock he was carrying.

 _What if I?_ Creating the rotation within the stone he reached and touched the bark of the tree with it. The rock spun on top of the outside layer unrolling it and revealing the smooth inside layer surface. This was it, he got what he wanted… The thing that was missing was a rotating object to transfer the energy, a rock in his case.

Luther looked at the wounded plant and rolled the bark back into its place leaving it only with a small opening. Reaching for his notebook he started to write down his result.

 _Attempts at the rotation of large or anything not resembling a sphere: A tree and a coat yielded no response. The items in question refused to perform any semblance of a rotation, however, they can be affected by a spinning object. Possible conclusion: Spherical or smaller objects can be forced to rotate and become a "conductor" of the unique rotational energy of the spin, which can affect items of interest._ He sighed, this was the best he could do without any equipment, it was very plausible that what he wrote down was completely wrong, but that didn't matter this was not the only test.

 _Hypothesis number 2: The force of the spin is based on the "conductor"._ Luther had to admit it was not the only thing the power of the spin was reliant on. The golden spin existed but doubted he had the skill set. He thought of this hypothesis when he observed the rotation of the much smoother rock, it was noticeably faster than the jagged one.

He held the spinning rock in his hands. So far he was only using shoddy rocks, not proper instruments designed to channel the spin like gyro's steel balls, if he could make them a bit more proper…perhaps. He had gotten a proper feel for the power, enough to tell that there was energy outside of the rotating object barely above the surface. Palming his hands together he forced the rocks and the energy to collide, notably, Chambers found more and more space to press down.

Opening his palms he revealed a large amount of rock dust and a rock reduced to a small yet perfect sphere. He brushed off the dust and observed it, whose surface was silky smooth to the touch. It was chiseled to perfection. _The moment of truth here…_

To compare the difference he picked up another stone similar to the one he used to do blunt trauma to a monster. To his dismay he only managed to rotate one rock at a time, it just took too much effort for two rotations at the same time. Regardless of his shortcomings, he had tests to do.

Luther needed to test the difference in speed of the rotation itself; he prepared one with the jagged rock and observed its speed, rolling back it and forth watching the uncharacteristic movements then he saw the rotation of the chiseled rock. It was much faster than its non-chiseled counterpart. A smoother _surface equals less air friction it seems._

 _Sorry about this._ Lastly, it was time to test the force the spin being produced he took the jagged rock and infused it with this bizarre power throwing it full force against a tree. The improvised projectile rocketed towards the innocent plant and penetrated straight through it, leaving a sizable hole in it, the tree barely keeping itself from failing. Satisfied he wrote down in his notebook. _The item used in this experiment, a jagged untampered rock produced enough force to fully penetrate a tree._

 _Next up the polished stone_ _in the shape of a sphere._ Chambers took the item in question and spinning he felt the considerable power behind it, but it was now time to test it. The thrown stone 'ball' sped towards a tree completely knocking it down and slamming into another one. The man's eyes widened, the difference wasn't just less air friction, the sphere clearly generated more force, enough to harm more than a single plant organism. He moved onto his last hypothesis.

 _Hypothesis number 3: The spin can affect my body._ The origin of the hypothesis was both from his experience with the slug monster and Gyro's own capabilities, from hardening his skin to the point where it becomes bulletproof to forcing muscle reflexes, the extent of the effect the spin had on the body was incredible. This was more of a conformation than a theory. Knowing it could be done he picked up the stone that did so much damage to forest life, despite facing such adversaries the rock remained intact. Spinning the rock he ever so slowly eased himself into pressing against his leg, disregarding the push back he pressed on further. His leg immediately reacted forcing his body to jump forward into the air launching him a further than any human normally could muster.

The aftermath involved a rough landing for Luther particularly in the behind the region, his bones shook and ached.

"Guh…my fucking back."

"Marking that off as a yes… **a very effective yes.** " He groaned massaging his back, this is yet another page in his observations and most likely not the last, at least not now. Looking at his watch he put his notebook in his coat's inner pocket.

He still had some time left to train.

* * *

After calming the nagging feeling inside his head that told him to experiment with the mystical technique, he finally found enough concentration to simply practice creating the rotation, the results were less than he was expecting…Fruitless as it seemed he had managed to claim some achievements – the ability too aware of his surroundings while creating rotations, however, he still couldn't move nor perform rotations multiple at a time.

He walked back to the camp, seeing his purple-haired companion finish his last [Demon Decapitation] for the day. Luther noted the boy's overall combat skills improved by long shot – his stance befitting of his stature, no longer relying on pure brute strength, his attacks were no longer randomly thrown out. _Guess that's what you get when combining a good teacher with talent._

"Oh! Luther, you finished your training? Alice taught me a new technique. I can show it to you!" The fake hero enthusiastically walked near Luther then suddenly stopped.

"Demon Decapitation!" Luka swiftly jumping towards his imaginary target slashed its neck landing nearby Luther.

 _Dear God! A little warning next time, I swear he easily jumped the Olympic level distance._ Chambers backed away immediately from Luka, instinctively drawing a stone shuffling it between his fingers.

"I'm sorry I-"

"No, no there's no problem, just startled me that's all…That's a good technique, although avoid shouting its name every time you use it." The man sheepishly critiqued. The strangest thing for Luther was the sudden increase in speed when Luka was using [Demon Decapitation]; it was perfect as it was unexpected, although I did beg the question. Where did this speed come from? Was it just Luka's latent angelic powers, the technique itself is magical? _Or perhaps I could just chalk it up to anime logic._

"But that's what heroes do!" The boy complained, besides he refused to let anybody take away his only excitement when using this technique, despite its less than pleasant past.

"That's what idiots do! Remember this is a monster's technique, if you fight someone who knows cursed sword skills and you just shout out the name, what do you expect will happen?" Alice retorted clearly irritated by the number of times her ears were graced with hearing its name over and over again. Luka's head slightly lowered, unable to answer her question in a way that would benefit him.

"So…how was your "training". You look like you barely broke a sweat." The lamia impishly remarked smirking.

"It was…satisfactory" There was dead silence for at least a minute as the monster and the fake hero stared at Luther with a neutral unchanging expression, both of them tried to speak up, but stopped every time.

"That's…it…?" They said in unison.

"Oh! Forgive me if I can't pull a new technique out my ass every time I train!" The stranger broke the silence, before whispering to himself. "Besides I'm not Granberia…"

"You know, this sort of thing would not happen if you let me train you…" She trailed off, the Lamia is not letting Luther out of her grasp this easily.

"Look… the effort you're putting herein is somewhat admirable…" He stopped. "If it wasn't so annoying, I already said I will not be revealing anything about the spin, so please just stop pestering me about this..."

"Hmph…fine" Alice crossed her arms; at least she knew the name now. There was bound to be something about it in her castle, no way could such ability escape the sight of The Monster Lords.

"Night is already nearing, we should get ready." Luka started looking at the rising moon.

* * *

The night came quickly as the camp prepared their sleeping bags, Luther managing to settle in comfortably in his sleeping bag while Luka awkwardly shuffled around as the moon shined its white light above them.

"Sorry Alice, I only have two sleeping bags with me." Luka offered his pointless apology.

"I don't need one anyway…They're too restrictive for me." She responded by wrapping herself around a nearby man, making Luka raise his eyebrow.

"By the way idiot where did you get that ring?" She asked, staring at the seemingly mundane ring on the purple-haired boy's finger.

"You can't eat this Alice." The fake hero defensively reflected pretending to be a fool he did not wish to speak about this.

"It's a personal object Alice…it's not something one can speak lightly about," Luther spoke out.

"Personal object…I assume you're familiar with such a concept judging by how close you clutch that bag." The lamia looked on with interest as the mere mention of this made the man squirm slightly.

"Yes, it's personal, uh... the only thing that I managed to save when I got caught in the storm." The man sighed, just another lie… He could even fathom what would happen if someone got their hands on the contents, it would put him into a very dangerous position.

He already knew the whole conversation, the ring that Luka's mother gave as a memento, regardless of its true purpose it held a place in the boy's heart. For all Luka had done for Luther he could at least make this conversation easier for him although his response seemed to encourage Alice's prying to his dismay.

"Anyway, Luka, the only reason I'm interested in that ring is that I feel something faint from it." The monster lord explained, perhaps this was the source for all of the fake hero's weirdness.

"Something faint? I don't know what you're talking about…this is my mother's keepsake. "

"Ten years ago, she died of an illness…" He stopped, looking longingly at the ring. Luther recognized the pain he knew what it was like, to have a close family member die.

"I see… I'm sorry to hear about that."

"Eh? Ah…thanks." Luka was surprised this was the first time she wasn't overly rude with him, even with his training he had experienced her ire.

"What's with the surprised look on your face? We're the same as humans in that respect. We both are sad when a parent dies." Faking offense she crossed her arms.

"Of course…that's right." Luka found that easy to accept it wasn't farfetched to say the only non-animalistic species in this world were similar in some ways.

"How about your father? Is he still alive?" The lamia inquired further.

"No… He died before my mother did…" Luka left it at that.

"Ah… I see. Your father went off to fight The Monster Lord and never came back. That's why you took up your father's wishes and trained to be a hero. Did I get it right?" She flashed a knowing smirk; it was the stereotypical hero's origin story and many people have heard it over the years and for good reason, in many cases, it was true in this day and age.

"Sorry, but you're wrong. That guy died because of his own stupid mistakes…" The fake hero disdainfully corrected.

"Hmm…that's unusual. Someone whose head is filled with sugar and rainbows, to say something like that…" Alice curiously remarked.

"What about your family Luther, what do they think about your wandering?" She asked the quiet man.

"I…" His hand closed into a fist. Chambers had heard the question a lot differently than what Alice intended to ask, and he had no desire to answer it.

Luther stopped and let out a slow and drawn out-breath, he had hoped he wouldn't have been reminded of his past world any more than he already has, especially with **that** topic...he didn't even want to think about it.

"I…" No other words escaped his lips.

"Enough about us, what about you? Why are you here?" Sensing his ally's growing discomfort Luka deflected the potential interrogation session.

"Hmph…it was just a question…" The lamia complained but decided against pressing further.

"I'm…I'm the only daughter of the Fateburn family. I wanted to see the world, so I set out a few days ago." Alice explained, refusing to shuffle around with the details of her trip – one of them involving bonking the goddess of light on the head with an unholy blade…but that didn't matter.

"Really?"

"Basically." She grinned, dark laughter escaping her lips, laughter that showed there was more than she led on leaving Luka and Luther to awkwardly look at each other and cough.

"You couldn't possibly…You aren't inspecting the human cities in preparation for an invasion…are you?" The purple-haired asked with a tinge of fear and worry in his voice.

"Hahaha…what interesting idea." Her laughter slowed down to a chuckle.

"Look at this book! This forbidden book contains everything about the human world. Geography, environment, food…it has it all!" The lamia enthusiastically presented a book. It was a dusty old tome incredibly thick with pages, despite its age the book seemed to be custom made, encrusted with jewels and gold trimming.

"Ah…the Traveling Guild's World Traveler tour guide…" The fake hero looked at the title of the book before noticing one single detail.

"What the! This book is marked year 867! This book is 500 years old!"

"Oh? I thought it looked a little old." Alice averted her eyes to the book in question, brushing off some of the dust of the pages.

"That's amazing…this is like a piece of history I wonder how much you could sell this for…" Stars glimmered in Luka's eyes, it would make a fortune.

"I'm not selling it, you idiot" The Monster Lord pulled the book away from the purple-haired boy and hugged close to her chest, no way she was selling her only chance of discovering new food.

"Anyway, it's about time to go to sleep. Faa…I'm exhausted after today. Goodnight, Luther, Alice" Luka yawned as he headed to sleep.

Luther was left alone with his newfound thoughts, his parents? He didn't have to worry about them...Thankfully thoughts about other family members and friends were snuffed out by his desire to sleep.


	4. Chord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a new feature in this Chapter called Luther's notes, they will either reveal Luther's own view on the world or explain certain topics that you might not be familiar with such as Stands or other Abilities.

_You get what you deserve!_

_Damn mistake!_

_I wish I never had you!_

Luther woke up in a cold sweat along with the rapid breathing, his body shook in disappearing fear, shifting his weight around the sleeping bag. He was alright…

Slowly caressing the scar on his right cheek he sighed, returning to stoic coldness. It wasn't the first time he experienced these night terrors, the haunting images of his far from pleasant childhood never seem to leave him, and the best response seemed to be an exercise in apathy, a response he used far too often, he regrettably had to admit. All he had to do was go back to sleep again.

It didn't help that the rash on his left arm came back with vengeance, he wasn't even sure if it could be called a rash anymore. He thought he got rid of it with the spin, but it may only have made things worse.

"What the hell…" There was something new to it…pain. He twisted his arm, stretching it in whatever way possible in a futile attempt to mitigate the pain.

Only feeling the discomfort increasing, the man hastily shuffled out of his resting spot, making sure he hadn't alerted the sleeping Luka and Alice of his nightly disturbance. Despite the number of times the rash relentlessly annoyed him, it never caused physical pain before.

Luther crazily dashed further into the woods, rushing past tree among the tree, the cold nightly air failing to distract him. He eventually found himself unable to go any further, his legs refusing to move.

Kneeling, Chambers grasped his arm, there was more than just the desire to scratch his arm off. There was something definitely inside of his arm it wasn't content with just staying, it violently shifted, prodding and pushing beneath his skin as if demanding to get out. His arms stretched in front of him, muscles tensed he felt like his arm was going to be torn apart.

The pushing managed to make a sizable tear in his muscles, creating a noticeable bump in his forearm that slowly grew in size. Luther felt all of it, the horrifying pain of having your muscles, bones, and blood vessels pushed open. It was comparable to the pressure felt when he touched the anomaly only on a smaller scale

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" The thing ripped apart the skin containing it, revealing the insides of his left arm and the purple mist that slowly seeped out of the opening.

The being hovered over Luther's opened appendage, showing no further hostile intent towards him, only a curious stare. The man's arm quickly closed, muscles and bones painlessly shifted back into place leaving only a fading sensation of his lingering agony, allowing him to snap back into focus and wordlessly look at this "assailant".

"Chu~"

"Chu~"

"Chumimi~in"

His "assailant" looked to be a harmless creature whose appearance vaguely resembled an axolotl, its head being slightly larger than its body, the being floated with two inarticulate arms and what appeared to be a leg along with the four tendrils of similar length at the bottom of its body. Its head bearded two long mammalian ears along with a distinguishing star on its forehead, eight vestiges emanated from its head: Two above; four from its sides, the lower of which, at its cheeks; and one either side of its chin. Its body matched the night sky with stars and moons adorning it in an irregular pattern. The being's tiny blue eyes stared into the man's grey.

The creature recognized its user… it touched Chamber's left arm, glimmering starlight matching the appearance of the being spread across his skin and his fingernails began to spin creating a faint buzzing sound similar to that of a wasp.

"Chumimi~in"

Luther stared back, the realization of its identity finally hitting him; it was a stand, a manifestation of one's will, despite its different form he knew what stand it was… Tusk

Images of the mutilated roper came back to his mind and the hand he had cut her with was his left. The stand… was also the thing responsible for the atrocity he had committed, the reason he kil- no butchered someone. His brow furrowed.

" _You…"_ Luther snarled, ripping his hand away from the thing.

"You're the reason why I have blood on my hands." He snapped, however, its reaction discouraged any further aggressive action as it cowered and apologetically whimpered in response. It made him stop for a moment and reconsider.

"Oh…what the hell am I doing? Blaming someone else for something I did…"I'm the one who dealt the blow in the end and you just tried to protect me…I cannot blame you for that." He diminished, letting his head hang low. One by one his emotions resurfaced like a slowly emerging storm, the ones he had tried so desperately to get away from: Anger, sadness, fear. It all came back to him.

"Why me?"

Luther's leg bounced up and down, his body shook and tensed as he palmed his face with both hands. His distraught was easily noticeable by the stand after all he could also feel it. That was the wonderful link they shared, shared happiness… shared suffering. From this moment onward Luther will never be alone, he will always have someone beside him.

"Why do I have to deal with this? Why do I have to be in this world filled with death and degeneracy just because I touched some shitty glowing sphere in my apartment? I could still be living there…alone and unbothered! I don't want to be here at all! I have to lie and hope no one catches on…what's worse is that the very few people I have met are already suspicious of me! How the hell am I going to survive all of this? …Monster…angels…what ridiculous shit." Not caring about anyone hearing him, his voice grew louder and louder, he needed to went

"And what of my family? My friends…my brothers and sisters have to deal with the pain of losing me and here I am! Stuck and talking with a piece of my very own soul!

"I don't think I can take this anymore…" And with that, the last of his frustrations faded away, leaving him with a somber and quiet atmosphere. You can only bottle up and distract yourself so much until your emotions finally blow up. He sat down next to a tree leaning in for support and took in the cold night's air for several long minutes.

…

…

…

"You know, it's funny…I used to think my life was pretty miserable, but you never really know how much you have until you lost it all." He sighed. Tusk floated closer to his chest and softly cooed in an attempt to comfort its user. Luther gently wrapped his arms around the small spectral being.

"Maybe, I'm not so alone now." His voice was barely a whisper. The bond between a stand and its user is rather special. A stand was like an extra limb of the soul, an intimacy that could not be compared.

"So…you're my stand?" It nodded.

The answer was barely believable, in his entire life he had never even begun to imagine he would be able to use a stand, any supernatural ability really, and here he was practicing the Spin inside a world where magic and mythical creatures loom. There was still a sense of surrealism within him relating to his circumstances.

Luther finally stood up, he had two choices: either he wallows in despair or tests his new power; sleep was out of the question, the excitement of the night, if it could be called that, had purged any tiredness out of him. He chose the latter as unenthused as he was about his powers, for obvious reasons, he couldn't just sit there and do nothing, he had a world to survive in…and curiosity overtook him

"Want to do some experiments?" He asked the stand. It responded by sitting on his shoulder, it was ready and eager to serve its user and he felt its excitement.

"Chumimi~in!"

The man raised his arms, starlight once again seeping into the skin, it was not like the previous times he had used the spin. This time he felt the power course through his body, starting from his chest area where it felt like there was rotation there. The starlight reached his fingers and his nails started to spin generating a faint buzzing that sounded out through the woods. He took a deep breath and pointed his finger in the shape of a gun and fired a fingernail out his index finger; it flew and effortlessly slashed through a tree. The sound was that of a silenced handgun shot combined with laser sound from a stereotypical sci-fi movie.

Looking at his hand he saw that the index finger's nail was already growing back painlessly at an extreme pace. Rapid regeneration of fingernails, one of Tusk's strangely specific abilities. He couldn't complain, Tusk's primary way of fighting was using the user's own fingernails like bullets after all.

The amount of control he had was incredible, his previous uses of the spin could not compare, he was able to stop his nails from spinning just by retracting the energy away from the fingertips, although the lingering starlight on his arms seemed to indicate he could a lot more than just spin his nails.

His eyes lit up, his Tusk was different from the original one, and of course, it was! It was easy to see from appearance-wise that they were definitely different. _In the manga there was a reoccurrence of a stand by the name of Killer Queen and its alternate universe counterpart, their abilities were different in a way…_

Being careful not to spin his nails he touched the bark of a tree with his starlight covered palm. The same spherical deformities he once saw during his scuffle with the roper formed on the bark, stretching outwards from the center of the origin point. This gave him an inkling of a clue as to what the main difference between them was.

"You're able to let me affect objects the same way a spin infused steel ball can?" He asked expecting to get a vocal answer from a being whose vocabulary consisted of 'Chu' and 'Chumimi~in'.

"Chumimi~in!" Tusk confirmed his answer by dancing spinning in the air excitedly; it proceeded to guide Luther's hand to his leg.

"Wait no!" But it was too late the spin energy had already touched his leg, it reacted by launching him far in the air like once before towards the night sky, dread-filled himself as he prepared for the rough landing.

"God fucking dammit…" Once again the man landed on his back, causing a considerable amount of aching on his backside, his jaw jittered accidentally biting his tongue. He then laid there flat on the grassy ground observing the midnight sky and lamenting the amount he had to endure.

It seemed as though for every good thing happening something completely awful followed afterward: He survived getting sucked into some anomaly, but ended up in a different world, he survived nearly getting eaten by a monster, but ended up with a death on his hands, he managed to use the mystical force that is the spin and a stand, but he busted his ass doing so, not that it wasn't worth it for him, but still…the constant theme of suffering was there.

The cynical part of him told him that this was going to become a reoccurring thing, but Luther banished those thoughts as he looked at his stand looming over him with teary eyes.

"It's okay…" Consoling Tusk he patted its head.

 _This thing was too adorable to exist in such a cruel place._ He thought to himself. _I can't stay mad at this little guy._

" _Chu~"_

"Come now, there is more to be done, no need to sulk here." Getting up Chambers readied himself for a less painful training regiment. From all the emotions that swayed around him that night, the adrenaline couldn't let him go back to his sleeping bag.

* * *

"He's still asleep…" Luka looked over to the sleeping form of Luther lying completely unaware of the surrounding area. It took quite a bit of time before Luther tired out from training and eventually headed to sleep, the progress he made was more substantial than the last time he used the spin. He found out his control became far greater after awakening Tusk even without its influence; it almost felt like he was purposely limited.

The man's training didn't consist of creating new techniques, just practicing what he knew: the many ways of firing his nail bullets, from rapid barrages of keratin to well-placed accurate sniper shots, it was a lot easier than firing a gun as there was no recoil neither do the "bullets" seem to be affected by physics, never losing velocity until the Spin energy gives out.

"His problem… and more food for me." All Luka could do was stare and judge as the monster lord devoured the last piece of Luther's breakfast.

"Alice...people normally don't sleep this long." He explained his concerns, the best thing he could hope for was at least a suggestion, he had already gathered most of the camp's equipment, the only thing left for them to do was wait for Chambers to wake up who seemed so intent on staying unconscious. Regardless he didn't want to wake the poor man up.

"They don't by your standards." She yawned and looked at Luka who was intently staring at Luther.

"Fine…it would be very troublesome anyway if we let him slow us down anyway." The lamia edged closer to Luther and loomed over muttering something about "Dangos". She raised her arm and as Luka's eyes winded karate chopped the sleeping man's forehead with considerable force.

This was not a result the fake hero wanted. The worst he expected from her was a rough wake up shake. He feared what the rest of his adventure would be like if she was so comfortable with the use of violence, he wanted to chastise her but…

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" Chambers grasped his aching head as his ears rang, he was suffering from likely what was the worst headache he ever had in his life.

"That was for wasting my time." Ignoring his frustration she went back to picking out the remaining pieces of food from her teeth.

Tusk appeared above Luther going unnoticed by the rest of the party present and rammed into Alice like a rocket with its horn as best as it could manage to hit her arm. For all of that the stand meant to the Spin, in its current state it had poor physical strength.

"Damn mosquitoes…" However, the monster didn't react much only narrowing her eyes and slapping the poked part of her body.

"Luther, are you okay?" The purple-haired went to the ailing man's side.

"What does it look like? I just got hit in the head by th-"

"By a monster." His attempt at a snarky remark almost made him out himself. He stopped himself from getting any angrier to prevent any further slips of the tongue, and he could only hope this slip up wasn't noticed by a certain lamia.

Luther watched in horror as his stand flew around Alice angrily as if swearing for eternal revenge for this small transgression, but breathed a sigh of relief as he called it back to him. _Only stand users can see stands_. _Guess that rule applies here too, or at least I hope so._

"Alright my head still aches, but I'm mostly fine." He looked around for a moment seeing the camp equipment had already been gathered. "I presume I overslept, right?"

"Yeah, you kind of did that, missed out on breakfast too…" Luka glanced towards Alice who flashed a cocky smirk.

"Oh, that's alright I'm not particularly hungry right now." The man got out of a sleeping bag and softly stroked his head, even after the many continuous rapid movements that his training included the only thing he felt was a strange sense of satisfaction, no hunger.

"Based… on Alice's annoyance" He heard a certain feminine 'hmph' while handing the rolled-up bag. "It's time to go?"

"Let's go and uh, sorry for what Alice did." Luka's apology seemed to be all for nothing as they headed down the road leading to Iliasburg, the central city of the continent. Luther grew quiet once again.

"I'm not apologizing for what I did, it was completely justified. Nobody gets in the way of me and my Dangos" She proudly exclaimed, a connoisseur of food like her could not be stopped by some would-be wanderer.

"Dangos? You hit somebody in the head just for some food?" The purple-haired boy asked in disbelief. It boggled his mind, how could someone be so obsessed with food?

"It's not just food you idiot. It's an Ama-ama Dango, a delicacy made in Sutherland Inn…"

Whatever the lecture evolved into Chambers tuned it out, it wasn't anything personal, in fact, a part of him was glad they were talking and not stuck in an awkward silence that often permeated in the air, the last time they were traveling. He shuffled the smooth rock across his fingers. Another weapon, just like his nails, he had not forgotten about it, of course, that would be careless.

Spotting a rather hefty size acorn he decided to test how far his accuracy had improved, he had lost track of the number of times the rock in his hand was thrown that night, how many times he shifted his hand, changing the motions for the perfect. Flicking his wrist towards the acorn he launched the stone ball. The sphere flew towards the nut and knocked it down from the branch. As it turns out that constantly lobbying high-speed spinning projectiles can help a person adapt quickly when it comes to throwing. _Accurate, though I doubt I would be able to do much with a moving target._

"Luther!" A youthful voice called to him.

"Ah!"

"You weren't listening? Were you?" Luka asked, he knew at this point Luther was a not man of many words and generally a quiet person, but he wasn't aware that his aloofness extended to the point where he would ignore them, it was strange really, had managed to get into more casual conversation with Alice, a monster than him. Part of the boy felt a bit disheartened.

"Probably daydreaming, is sleeping not enough for you?" The lamia inquired in a mocking tone. Luther let out a groan, he hoped whatever higher power out there was kind enough to listen to him that this would not become a common occurrence.

"Anyway, the topic of traveling came up and I remembered you said you are a wanderer, why?" Luka continued with his intent to find out more about him, truth to say speaking with Alice was a bit tiring with her constant remarks and insults, as distant the man seemed to be he did not insult him.

"It's a call from the blood I guess." He nearly choked on the irony of the statement. "My ancestors, parents did it so, why shouldn't I, traveling from place to place seemed to bring enough enjoyment."

"So you don't have a goal with your "adventuring", it's just aimless wandering just for the sake of tradition." Alice was the one who responded first, the skepticism was clear on her face. It all seemed so pointless, he didn't even have a goal in mind! Not that any goal could compare to her conquest for food, but still it seemed a little too pathetic.

"I would call it soul-searching" He wished he did soul-searching back when his life went down the gutter in place of whatever way he had called drinking and sulking healing.

"Uh-huh…soul-searching?" In the earlier days, her deadpan tone would have wounded him, however, the years he spent forming himself a thick bizarrely comforting shell around his heart proved true to his defense, all her attempts and future attempts would prove useless to even scratch it.

"For an adventure, you're quite the heavy sleeper." The fake hero inquired again attempting to deter the conversation from a potential argument.

"I'm surprised you haven't been snatched up by a monster at this point, it's very unbecoming of an adventurer especially with your scent." Alice soon chipped with her own snide remark which raised some questions.

"My scent?"

"His scent? What do you mean by that?" He heard how she managed to track him by his scent and the many times she said that he smelled delicious, but she never spoke about Luther's smell, only that weird moment between them was almost brought up.

"While it's not as delicious as this idiot's scent is," Luka swore he could have felt a part of his soul die when he heard the highly audible lip smack. "It is very unique, to keep it short: You don't smell like food, and as far as I can tell you're not even aware of that yourself."

Luther Chambers narrowed his eyes in thought on what that meant for him. His scent was not that of food. Compared to what? Humans. Hybrids even. He didn't understand the case for it. He was as human as the people here, was he? How different was he? Just because he came from another universe he was now different from what was considered his race in this. Thinking about it was highly likely…More importantly, the question that revolved around most and involved a certain collection of species that he'll be facing mostly. What did it mean for his interactions with monsters? He was slightly afraid of the answer, perhaps it made even more of a target than the 'Monster magnet' Luka himself in certain circumstances. Would their intent for him be less lethal?

If that was the case then it would be extremely awful. He may not have virginity to lose, but becoming someone's sex slave was even worse for him than the death they offered. All things considered, he would be sure to inquire further into this.

"What do you mean by food?" Luka gulped.

"Oh, you don't know do you? A human scent for monsters is very much like food, the better their semen the tastier they smell." She flashed a wry smile as she watched the fake hero squirm under her gaze because of that little tad-bit of information.

"You know, at first I thought you were friends when I first saw you, but you really act like strangers towards each other." Her countenance took on a more serious look.

"Well…we met quite recently really." The boy let out a nervous chuckle still unnerved by the lamia.

"I saved him from a basic slime, just before we first met you." Luther deadpanned.

"He almost lost to a slime?" She let out a short laugh much to Luka's dismay. "It was a good decision to train you, definitely wouldn't last long enough to make it entertaining if I didn't."

"So you don't know each other at all and neither of you seems to hate monsters…how interesting that we have all met each other in these circumstances?" She mused.

"You know, I never really asked you what your thoughts on coexistence are…" Luka trailed off muttering to himself over who his companions were. Alice was loud, rude, but honest if one could call it that, and Luther was silent mostly, never insulted him, but his air of distance seemed to indicate that he was hiding something. However, if the man had no desire to reveal anything, he had no right to pry if it didn't hurt anyone.

"This something I would also like to know, do you believe in such foolish dreams?" The lamia saw the opportunity for what was another chance to make Luka suffer based on the brown-haired man's reply, what was the chance both of having the same childish dream?

"Coexistence…" He quietly whispered to himself as if mustering all meaning that it had with for this very moment. His honest answer: he didn't care and why should he? This wasn't his world; anything that happens here will not affect his world. Luther's only desire was simple to return home. What happens here doesn't matter…mostly. Of course, he wasn't as heartless as to condemn the world to a dark fate just to reach his own world, he still had principles he stood by, principles he used to judge the actions of individuals and to judge himself.

"I suppose it would be nice, however, it is a worldwide change, not exactly a one-man mission." Chambers chose to be neutral, avoid providing a direct answer. The man was too torn to be dishonest about this

"You didn't say whether you believe in or not?" This caught the man slightly. The monster knew exactly what he was doing and he wasn't getting away with it.

"Not enough to do anything about." However, his response garnered mixed reactions, strange disappointment from Alice, and a determined look from Luka.

"How apathetic…" It was almost disgusting for her, such a stance, to be so confirmative to your surroundings, not being willing to impose change. In the end, it wasn't as naïve as Luka's belief however pathetic it was.

"So that's what you think…that's fine by me, I promised that I'll prove my conviction to Alice, I can promise you that'll I make you believe!" The fake hero exclaimed with impressive vigor, there was hope. Luther may have not actively believed in coexistence, but neither did he deny it like Alice or hated monsters like his fellow villagers.

Luther cursed himself for saying such a thing, now he may have to deal with constant preaching of coexistence from Luka and he already had both a literal and a metaphorical headache from this world. As selfish as it was he was too concerned about whether he could leave this world, ways he would face the threats that lurk in the future to be worried about this world's particular problem.

By all means, he had considered this question in his own playthrough of the game and came down to this answer: it isn't that simple, a predatory species coexisting with its prey, there might be some problems. There **will** be problems.

For the man, the problems didn't stem from the human part of the equation, with exception of rejection of the idea, they were perfectly fine. The problematic part was the monsters, most of which because of cultural and ultimately biological reasons could not exist in such an idealistic world without it collapsing.

Their path towards the center capital of Ilias continent continued until they spotted a peculiar plant growing by the side of the dirt road, its leaves were a bit discolored compared to the lush green of the forest, and the ground where its presumed roots lay bore a sense that it was recently dug with ground not fully meshing in. At that moment Alice vanished leaving no trace behind, she was aware of the "plants" true identity, unknowingly just like Luther.

"What is this?" Luka voiced his thoughts out loud bemused looking at the offending plant as if had wronged him in some way. He didn't know what was wrong. It just that the plant felt off… the way the leaves swayed and the newly disturbed ground seemed to rouse a sense of suspicion from him, maybe he could talk to Luther or Alice about it, they would at least ease his strange anxiety.

"Luther, Alic-"He stopped noticing the lacking presence of one of his "companions". Looking around he came to one conclusion, she had disappeared again.

"Eh…Luther did you see where Alice went?" The boy asked his aloof companion.

"No." In his answer, he said a single word without any further context. It was likely he didn't even notice her disappearing.

"Oh? Um… Then what do you think about this plant? Something is weird about it." The question repeated in Luther's mind on and on. He questioned himself on what he should say as it was the first optional fight of this story. However this wasn't a game, there was no EXP to earn all they would be doing was directly disturbing somebody's sleeping space.

 _Besides the whole concept of doing something for the sake of EXP seems a bit too sociopathic for my taste and even then what kind of combat experience would Luka gain from this encounter, the skill to stumble around and be paralyzed?_ The man grimaced.

"It's probably just some weed growing, just leave it." It was more of a command than a suggestion that seemed to make the purple-haired boy even more uncomfortable.

Luther was already ahead of Luka going forward on the dirt road; he would have gone further if not for the ear-piercing high-pitched scream he heard behind him.

Losing control of his body he froze and fell face-first to the ground. He loudly groaned realizing what just happened – Luka ignored his warning. _So this is what paralysis feels like or rather doesn't feel like at all. I don't like this, feeling so fragile... at least I can feel my face. Now then how do I get out of this?_

Frowning, he heard the commotion going on between the sleepy monster and the panicked Luka. Chambers knew he had to break out of this sudden paralysis and the method he decided to use was the obvious one: try to move. From an arm and leg, he tried to move, getting nothing but a simple twitch of a finger. He had two more remaining one of them was the pure unbridled willpower that is a stand. The willpower gathered and manifested into a familiar spectral figure.

"TUSK!" He called out to his power, a twitch became a spasm, and a spasm became complete control, his stand was floating near him ready to answer his commands. The man glanced towards the Mandragora who was preparing to take revenge on her prey already servicing him.

The brown-haired man pointed his fingers, nails spinning, at the plant monster. Spin energy in his arms raced back and forth ready to be released in a barrage of nail bullets, however, with a sharp intake of breath, he closed his hand and shook his head. The very first time he had ever used the spin involved slashing a roper in half, that image pierced itself into his mind, likely haunting to the end of his day. He wasn't going to repeat the same mistake, not now.

A less lethal option would be preferable. Reaching into his back he shuffled his hand for the rock he had become so acquainted with only for it to be missing.

 _That's right…I just threw it at an acorn._ He sighed taking into account that he shouldn't have been so carefree with his 'weapon'. Why did he have to resort to violence anyway, he hadn't even tried to reason with the monster which bothered him as he walked towards the sleepy monster.

* * *

At the moment when Luka heard the scream he knew he should have listened to his fellow friend, his warning would have prevented this unfortunate series of events.

The fake hero looked to "plant" whose true identity was that of a monster. She popped out of the ground with a groan of pain, her voice no longer as high pitched. The monster body which glistened from the sun's rays was stained with dirt still appeared beautiful, her brown hair seemed to take on the appearance of hard roots, embarrassingly Luka found his eyes wandering around her shape, especially being drawn towards leaves on top of her head…and her bare chest which he had to stop himself before being noticed. Overall if not for the plant life growing out of her hair the monster girl would be able to pass off as human.

"What the hell are you doing? I was finally asleep too!" She wailed, her voice nearing the high-patchiness of her paralyzing scream.

"I'm really sorry." He apologized and sighed a part of him felt like he deserves this, but a part of him also knew this won't be the end of his punishment.

"…Eh? I can't move my body…what… is this…?" The paralysis finally set in making him fall flat on his buttocks. The monster halfway submerged in the ground looked down at him. This was a very unfavorable position to be in.

"That's because you heard my scream. It can even kill people with weak hearts" Yawning she boasted her capabilities.

"And it seems I also got your friend." The monster slightly smirked as she heard a loud groan behind her while the boy underneath her felt further guilt.

"Well, I'll go back to sleep now..." The purple-haired boy would have breathed a sigh of relief if not for what he heard next. "But I'll be able to sleep longer if I have some nourishment."

"By nourishment you mean…" Of course, he already knew the answer especially so after Alice gleefully reminded him of such news.

"Of course, your semen. I'll suck plenty out of you, so get ready" She clarified already reaching for the fake hero's pants.

"N…no way!" And there it was this was the third monster that tries to rape him. Was his action against her truly worth such a response? Luka tried to move, flail his body around, but the only response he got was Mandragora snickering at him as she got his pants off. She stretched out her long tongue over Luka's cock and ran along the shaft ever so slowly letting the boy feel every inch of her slippery organ.

"Ahh..." He breathed out, much to Luka's chagrin his dick rose like a defiant flag against his mind and paralysis inflicted upon him from this one action.

"Oh, what cute voice!" She fawned. "Let me do something even better then."

Her tongue wrapped around his member slobbering it in saliva and held it like one would with a hand and began to stroke it, earning many pants and moans from the fake hero who felt her wet flesh. He knew he couldn't last long against her especially while watching her service him. His combat stamina was high, his 'other' stamina paled in comparison. Luka needed something to get him to stop looking.

"TUSK!" The fake hero heard a familiar voice shout out. The Mandragora paid no mind to it and continued her intensive tongue motions nearing his tip.

Luka's eyes winded as he saw his comrade stand up pointing his fingers at them. Just what was this Tusk? And how did it let him break out of her paralysis? His thoughts were interrupted when he felt his tip enter her upper canal, her tongue bringing him closer and closer to the hot and wet insides of her mouth, the pressure on him increased as she sucked him in.

"Got your attention, did I?" She teased stroking his cock lightly between her fingers. Her assumption was incorrect as her attempts had only managed to distract him for a moment before his eyes reached his friend again.

**ゴ**

**ゴ**

**ゴ**

**ゴ**

Luka never noticed how menacing his friend could be despite spending two days with him. Luther was strolling toward them. It felt like there was the power behind every step, every minuscule movement it was as if a peculiar aura covered his body. His face features were in the form of a disappointing frown which was strangely common for the man, his eyes looked soulless as ever however there was a ting of determination hidden within those eyes, something he had seen before in his previous scuttles with monsters. Just where was this power hidden?

"You..." The Mandragora finally turned around to meet the origin of the accusatory cold voice, her eyes widening into saucers, her distracted state provided a little relief from her onslaught.

 _This was not possible._ She thought. The brown-haired man had managed to break off her powers this quickly. Perhaps he didn't actually hear her scream, yes! That was it! She just needed to scream again and he would fall before her. Clearing her throat she let out a loud screech, whatever control Luka had managed to gain dissipated.

The monster's fear finally came through when she spotted that her scream had only made the man stumble before continuing in his direction. Chambers loomed over the monster his cold gaze only intensifying, his sweet scent being quite adverse to his appearance.

"I apologize for my friend's transgression, but I cannot condone such behavior. Please leave before I'm forced to use force." His polite tone did not match the oppressive air around him.

The man gazed into the Mandragora's eyes and stiffened when he saw the quivering pupils, he saw an emotion that was all too human… fear. His 'enemy' was reduced to a cowering mess. He could feel what she was feeling all from a single glance of her eyes, it was very similar to what he felt during his less than pleasant encounter with a roper.

She gulped and wordlessly complied. If he was powerful enough to resist her scream, then she was no match for him.

The plant monster rooted out of the ground revealing the rest of her bare body to the surrounding party and ran far away. With only one question hanging in her mind: What did she ever do to deserve this?

His left hand shivered, he could have chosen to shoot at her and that would be it... possibly another death he caused, but this was different. Luther Chambers had to admit, the roper monster was the least bit sympathetic character, unlike the monster that was before him.

Seeing her fleeting form, Luther sighed and relaxed, the aura around him gradually disappearing. His stand, Tusk appeared to be unwell slouching down on Luther's head with a light murmur.

Intimidation, was the tactic he chose, in many instances simple reasoning did not work with monsters, they respected strength. _An obvious part of their collective culture, their very method of picking a Monster Lord revolved around a test of strength between contenders. I had to do it… as uncomfortable as it was._

"Are you alright?" The man inquired at his paralyzed companion whose little soldier remained standing stiff in the air. The question was more out of courtesy than of actual worry, it was obvious that Luka was relatively unharmed.

"Yes…ah, sorry, I should have listened to you." The fake hero apologized feeling the oppressive air around Luther vanish. Consecutive Mandragora's screams seemed to decrease in effectiveness as Luka already felt his body's twitches and slight spasms.

"No, neither of us knew any better." He was careful to add 'us' to the sentence, anymore suspicion than he had already earned was not acceptable.

"Haa.." With a groan, Luka finally wrests control of his body shuffling up to meet eye to…chest. Quickly pulling up his pants in doing so, this situation seemed eerily familiar to the first encounter with one another. Alice had finally appeared as well, although in a less than the pleasant mode.

"You scared her off." She stated. "I would say it would be absurd, but it was a pretty convincing act."

Luther stared down the Monster Lord; he was not going to dignify her with a response either, instead choosing to remain silent. Luka however was perplexed by Lamia's sudden reappearance.

"Alice…where did you go off to? Luka however was perplexed by Lamia's sudden reappearance.

"If there's even the chance of combat, I'm going to hide. I told you before that I'm not going to help you, didn't I? Besides, you got enough aid as it is…" She continued with a gleeful smirk on her face. "You're horrible, you know? You attacked that Mandragora who was just minding her own business sleeping and then when you couldn't handle her you forced somebody to help you, truly you're one pathetic barbarian."

Each word pierced through Luka, but he soon found it to defend himself.

"No, no. She was the one who attacked me." All he did was pull on her, that's all there was to it.

"Didn't you force her out of the ground?" This silenced Luka." And you what were you doing scaring her like that?!"

"Would you prefer if I attacked her then? I wanted this to happen no more than you did." It was already unpleasant enough for him to act like he would be called a barbarian and threatening someone, he didn't need to be called out for it, if anything he minimized the damage that could have done.

"I suppose not. Fine, better than her being hurt anyway." She sighed and released a dark chuckle.

"Well, what a fine way of accomplishing your dream…harassing the first monster you see. You will surely complete your dream of coexistence." She exclaimed, sarcasm clearly bleeding through her upbeat tone unsettling Luka.

"Okay, I admit…this was a mistake, but I will not happen again. For the sake of my dream!" The fake hero declared, attacking monsters indescribably would make no better than those he opposes and is unbecoming of a hero, Alice, however, remained unconvinced.

"We shall see, we shall see…"

In the middle of this dialogue, a question resurfaced in Luka's mind of the difference between both males present. The very topic of resistance towards the monster's paralysis bemused the purple-haired hero and what of that freighting aura he observed around Luther's body, did it have something to do with it. Now with them traveling towards Iliasburg again, he had a chance to actually ask.

"When I was fighting that monster." He started earning the attention of his 'allies'. "She paralyzed both of us and I saw how quickly you stood up and I was still on the ground, why is that?"

"Something I would like to know myself. A Mandragora's paralysis is magical by nature and can only be broken either through sheer will or magical power. You don't seem to be much of a mage and humans rarely if ever have that willpower to do so." Her piercing gaze shifted towards them, looking for any reaction. Luka appeared to be even further perplexed and unsure all while Luther remained unchanging thinking of a proper excuse.

"More secrets? Hmm?" She mused, there were no worries for her, she would find out about them one way or another.

The air around them stilled no longer drowning out the awkward silence. Chambers managed to observe the surroundings enough to catch the strange glances that Luka gave him.

* * *

Luka, Luther and Alice reached a high point where they observed the horizon that was the central city of the Ilias continent. Their remaining journey was uncomfortable with recent events, putting distance between them, Luther growing even more silent than usual and Alice with her inquisitive remarks. However at least one good thing happened, they made it on time with the sun setting down. Luka reminisced the very few times he visited the city, it was such a large place with many people, the home village couldn't compare.

All Luther Chambers felt was approaching dread, doubts began to creep up his mind like spiders and sew their webs: 'His allies' growing suspicion, the fact he might not return to his own, but most importantly the encounter with a Heavenly Knight worried him, they were a one most powerful monsters, while he was traveling with Monster Lord she wasn't a direct enemy, and hopefully, it will remain that way.

The thought of facing them made Tusk shiver slightly.

He was also half-pressed to admit that his memories of the events here were foggy and that's what feared him the worst, the unpredictability…

* * *

**Luther's Notes:**

**Tusk**

**Namesake: Tusk by Fleetwood Mac**

**My companion, in one of my most pathetic points in life it came to me like a beacon of night-light, it gave me the power to defend myself. Tusk is a stand, a manifestation of fighting spirit and a part of my soul. Despite its size and physical capabilities it is not to be underestimated, capable of bypassing the limitations of the SPIN, and evolving into superior ACTs it is a force to be reckoned with.**

**Tusk allows my body to directly affect objects or living beings using the SPIN, but its primary ability makes my fingernails spin, each one individually acting like a fast saw blade, additionally, I can choose to shoot them. There aren't drawbacks in doing so, one of its many weird quirks include accelerated nail regeneration.**

**To this day I do not know how I acquired this stand. I have not interacted with any of the methods required to get one. All I have are baseless theories on this, despite that, I know that If I ever find myself alone again Tusk will be by my side until the very end.**


	5. Arc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Accidentally skipped a chapter when posting.

Composing himself, Luther looked towards the central city of the continent he had been reminded of. The history book pictures he looked at when he was just a child, except the real sight was much more impressive to his eyes, a medieval-age city in pristine condition. In his world, such a place would be considered a historical monument that stood the test of time however that was not the case. An exotic place it might have been, but he was not a tourist, neither was this his universe. The luxury to admire such a place was lacking for the man.

"We are here." Declared the young hero, his eyes also wandering across the field where the city was situated. The journey to getting here was more troublesome than he would like to admit to his "compatriots". His eyes lingered more as a realization entered his mind- He had been traveling with a monster; There was no way that he could enter such a place with her.

The further down south the more zealous the people were to Ilias with the exception of a few places, humans in the Ilias continent wouldn't take kindly to Alice's presence especially in Iliasburg. They would be stopped at the gates, although he doubted whether the guards would be able to stop the snake monster and her self-proclaimed "conquest for food". It was more out of principle than anything. Perhaps they could sneak in, it isn't honorable, but he would rather do that than causing a commotion. Maybe Alice possessed a way to get in without much trouble.

"Alice…are you able to disguise yourself as a human?" Or perhaps something else that might help her get in without the use of violence, she did get in and out of his house without alerting anybody after all.

"Taking the form of a human is unpleasant" She crossed her arms." Why should I have to pretend to be a human?"

Luka sighed from the very few interactions he had with her knew there was a large possibility of her simply rejecting his idea, either to spite him or was it a distaste for humans? He didn't know, what he did know was her obsession with food. "If you can't enter the city, how are you going to eat your Ama-ama Dango?"

"Crap…I guess that's true." The very mention of the word Dango made the purple-haired boy's argument something to be considered in the mind.

 _Doubt anybody would be able to stop her._ A wry thought and a small chuckle passed by the man standing by the cliff. It was true no one in Iliasburg could rival her power, with the exception of the "visitor".

"Fine…how does this look?" Her alien purple skin shifted in something more commonly seen in humans, her horns disappeared along with her most noticeable feature: her snake tail turning into a pair of normal human legs. Even with her form change, her appearance remained unique: the tribal tattoos remained on the left side of her body, her white hair, certainly unique clothes, and red-eye mark on her forehead didn't help her case.

"Aah…That's good" Luka observed the now "human '' Alice, it was good enough, her clothes might have been a bit too indecent for the average human. However, earning a slight raise of the eyebrow from Luther. With a small glance at the back, the city over the horizon Luther Chambers followed his company, Tusk vanishing back into its user's body.

At the very entrance, they noticed something was amiss Most notably their front gates being open and lack of guards protecting it, heading in even further past the gate and houses much to Luka's horror it turned out the city had become a ghost town vacant of any kind of living lifeform.

"What the…? Why does the city look so strange?" It was quite uncharacteristic for such a place, as the central city of the continent it was always bustling with merchants, pilgrims, travelers, performers, and citizens. However there was not a single soul in sight, only boarded up or closed-house windows and empty streets, even the air surrounding them was tense and full of strange oppressive pressure.

The purple-haired boy frantically glanced all around him, finding no one else except them and the notable lack of Alice presence…wait Alice was gone? His mind raced through his observations and it all pointed to one unfortunate conclusion - Iliasburg has been attacked, but by who? Every single time Alice vanished out of thin air it had been for a reason, to avoid her fellow monsters…it clicked for him. _Of course! How had I been so blind?_

"A monster is attacking Iliasburg." It was more of a statement than a question. At this point the lack of Alice didn't surprise him as much, she explained much herself "if there was any threat of a battle she would disappear". What worried him was that there was a monster attacking a major city, this wasn't just run of the mill slime girl, this is something that posed a threat to the whole city. Luka didn't mention the lamia's disappearance as he could already see his "friend's" expression showing full well that he was aware of it.

"That is…very likely. We should move forward…" Hesitantly he forced himself to say the last part; he had to admit to himself that he was a bit shaken to face such a fierce opponent so early even if he didn't end up fighting her. The man knew the truth, of course, the nature of the invader, but couldn't afford to say it less he risked looking more suspicious, even with that he **felt** something massive a fair bit away from them.

Bemused he narrowed his eyes staring off into the direction of the energy he felt. _Curious…I can feel her presence here, when could I do this?_

His answer came from the small shiver within his being. The man realized it: that this came from his own stand. He was able to sense the very energy of a person, that or this was the way the Dragonknight was…her mere presence sensed by all around her, after all, he didn't feel Alice or Luka, there was nothing, just the massive power radiating ahead of him. It gripped his throat.

However puzzled Luther might have been by this, it didn't matter as Luka had already complied with his suggestion and began moving forward closer towards the center of the oppressive air surrounding the city regardless of the doubts creeping into his mind. The man went after him with the knowledge of what's about to occur hanging heavy on his head. They passed through the streets, edging closer to Iliasburg's center until they happened to stumble by lying armored men on the cobblestone ground.

"Oh, dear Ilias!" The purple-haired boy sprinted towards the laying bodies, upon closer inspection, the hero noticed that they were guards of the city, relief washed through him when he realized none of them were dead, instead were just unconscious. Breathing and alive only sustaining few injuries. They heard a very distant and muted sound of clashing blades a bit farther down the road leading to the plaza.

Soon enough Luka and Luther were greeted with the sight of the occurring battle. Before they were spotted they hid behind the nearby shrubbery, in the city plaza laid countless more unconscious soldiers with only three remaining facing a figure thousands of times more imposing. She stood there, arms crossed as she gazed at her opponents, making them flinch. A giant seemingly unwieldy blade rested beside her stabbed into the hard ground.

"That's…! " Luka spoke out.

"Granberia, the Heavenly Knight of Fire." Chambers finished in a hushed tone, Luka's eyes winded in realization as his assumption was regretfully confirmed. He never expected to face, let alone catch a glimpse of a monster of such power so early in his adventure, although he originally expected someone powerful enough to at least take on the entire city, the thought of it being one of the Four Heavenly Knights hadn't crossed him. Everybody knew who Heavenly Knights were from the greatest cities to the lowest villages, figures surrounded by legend and fearsome tales of their unrivaled power that no human can match. For now, they hid and watched the scene unfold before them. Just what was she doing attacking Iliasburg?

"How boring. Is there not a single strong person in this whole city?" Her voice served to conjure up more fear and frustration of the remaining conscious soldiers.

"D…Damn it..."

"She's so…so strong!"

"Guh…" The soldiers all barely muttered and gasped with what remaining willpower they had, while their comrades were still alive they were still taken down effortlessly by the monster swordswomen standing before them.

"You three…" She called to the remaining human soldiers. "Are you going to fight or not?"

The silent observers moved to get a closer look at the city's sole aggressor. Appearance befitting for a dragonkin, she had green scales that were strangely smooth for someone like her but became harder and more concentrated on the forearms and legs which ended in claws. Her battle-hardened eyes were golden orbs that held deep fiery determination that matched her red hair. A purple cape with golden lining attached to the pauldrons flowed behind obscuring her green-scaled tail. Despite the lack of sword in hand, her battle stance remained guarded but mostly relaxed.

The Heavenly Knights' lack of armor was apparent, leaving quite a bit of her monstrous yet humanoid body seen, most likely it was aesthetic as her body can withstand as much if not more so than the breastplate, pauldrons, and visor. "Only you three are left…Are you just going to stand there while I take control of this city? Or is one of you going to be a Hero and try to face me!?"

"Well… hurry up and decide!" She shouted, her voice booming across the plaza and reaching through the thick walls of the houses.

"Grr…Damn you!"

"I won't let a monster like you do whatever you want!" Her challenge had managed to rile up her opposition as they charged towards the monster invader. They had a duty, to protect the city and its citizens and they were going to fulfill it, at least two of them thought this away. One of the men at center charge turned craven and stood paralyzed in fear of the Heavenly Knight's powerful presence. He couldn't be blamed; they were but lowly humans and she was a direct subordinate of the Monster Lord herself.

And Lowly humans they were…

"That's the spirit. But even if you have the spirit, it's meaningless!" The dragonkin drew her sword off the ground, in but a mere moment, flames surrounded the blade engulfing it, the sourcing heat generated was felt by all…Luka gawked at the sight, it seemed as though the Knight lived up to her title of fire. One of the guards reached her and swung his own sword attempting to slash at her shoulder, but before the weapon could even get close to her she disappeared out of sight. The soldier dropped to the ground Granberia appearing behind him. The other soldier angered by the fall of his fellow guard swung his blade at the dragonkin monster's back.

"Slow." She looked over her shoulder and swung her sword, the mere heatwave left from the attack knocking out the second assailant. Meanwhile, the purple-haired hero and the man beside him starred with a mixture of shock, amazement, fear, and a bit of envy. The monster movements were all too fast to follow for them; it was as if she was invisible as the wind's breeze when she moved. Soldiers who were just struck still remained breathing despite the power exerted by her. All that remained was a terrified soldier.

"Well then…what are you going to do?" She asked remaining unmoving in her position, there was no hint of emotion in her tone, as expected the remaining soldier ran away screaming, she did not go after the coward.

"That's a wise choice." She then shook her head. "But in the future, you can't call yourself a soldier, or a hero."

"This isn't good," Luka muttered, he had witnessed the last remaining forces of the central city get knocked out, it seems that there was no one left to fight.

"Is that it!?" Having your city taken over by a monster…there's no complaints!?" The Heavenly Knights voice echoed and pierced through the thick walls of the houses, but to no avail, as there was no one response, the city's populace remaining barricaded within their abodes. They had no will to fight back, they were mere civilians of a city whose military had been single-handedly taken down.

"Wh- what should we do?" The fake hero asked if he knew there wasn't a way of beating her; she was too powerful for him, but perhaps he wouldn't have to do it alone, perhaps his fellow traveler's strange abilities could aid him in some way. If only that was the case…

"I…I don't know…" Luther answered with great uncertainty and the strange case of rapid breathing, under normal circumstances he would have encouraged the decision that would lead to continuing the "canon" story however this was not the case. He not only sensed the sheer quantity of her total power but also felt several features that identify it even further. Her aura and surrounding area smelt of ash and smoke, the utter heat radiating of her being made his heart race and sweat pouring from his pores. There was no monster in front of him, only a raging inferno threatening to devour all that stood in its wake and he was likely a candidate for its wrath.

Fear and a dash of despair gripped his soul, he couldn't even comprehend how he could stay near her let alone fight her…this much different than the monster he and Luka previously faced, they were pathetic bugs compared to Granberia. How did he even begin to think he could face foes that were even stronger than her?

The man's answer only served to unnerve and slightly disappoint the purple-haired hero however he could see the fear clear on his face and the slight twitch stressed twitch in his body, it was like they weren't even looking at the same living being anymore. He understood the answer to the course of his actions lies solely with him. He was a hero although not officially, it was still his duty to aid those in need or the oppressed, and right now there was a monster oppressing a city. It didn't matter if said monster was currently leagues above him. He nearly lost against many monsters and this failure frustrated him, not that he would ever admit it. At the very least he could not fail this duty even if it kills him.

Answering Granberia's call Luka stepped in the open gripping his sword in his hands, his eyes met with the imposing dragonkin not without any fear, he had deliberately made sure he wasn't shaking in his boots. Regardless of whether he felt if he ran away he would be nothing but a fake hero.

"Oh, you're carrying a sword?" He regretted his decision the moment he heard her voice but feared there was no turning back at this point. "Then I'll treat you as a warrior, not as a boy."

"You have no problem with that, do you?" She observed the purple-haired boy despite his attempts at hiding it; his fear was evident by his shaky form. The boy looked so…young with that and his amateurish stance it was evident the wouldn't up even less than the guards had given her much of fight so a part of her desired to give him a small chance to back away, but there was a hint of resolve she hadn't seen in any of the men she had fought here. Who knows maybe she will be surprised?

"Of… of course not!" A part of him felt a little proud of being taken seriously, but the circumstances of being treated as such by someone so powerful was at the least a bit concerning for the hero. He gulped. "Even som…someone like me is a warrior!"

"I understand, well then… fire swordswoman Granberia will be your opponent!" The Heavenly Knight declared once again drawing her large sword out the ground the very slight movements and stance of Luka's opponent affirmed the idea that he made a poor decision.

All the while Luther stared at the showdown with a sense of dread. Here he was hiding, cowering in fear while a less equipped and powered boy suicidally marched into the flames before him. He couldn't fathom even being seen by this storm of flames. The fake hero's actions in his opinion were beyond courage or stupidity and bordered more on martyrdom not without thought of course. The regret on Luka's face was plain to see, regardless he had no clue on whether he should admire or be disturbed by such actions. One thing was clear the older man would never match such level of bravery, perhaps it was for the better, he valued his life quite dearly despite all of its hardships and besides the very few faint glimmers of hope would be all for nothing if he was dead.

There was no trace of Tusk in the outside world. He could feel it within him, it seemed as though there was a disconnect between them; the stand no longer matched his own emotions where he felt fear and dread, his stand felt eagerness, the anxiety it felt vanished leaving only a small bit of disappointment towards Luther.

"Guh…" The monster's mere combative presence almost caused Luka's legs to turn to jelly, but he had to hold himself together, to challenge such a being and fall face first in front of her would be nothing short of an embarrassment for him and the one who took up the task of training him - Alice.

"Now give me your best shot!" She took a relaxed defensive stance, observing the boy. Within his stance, she saw multiple openings and weak points. With that, the mere thought of being surprised dwindled every second.

"Take this!" The purple hero charged and swung his sword towards the powerful dragonkin only to see her vanish and be knocked off his feet, she had appeared again and stomped on his groin forcing him to the ground.

"You're too green." With the purple-haired boy lashed out in upward swing from his prone position managing to actually clash with her blade, but only to be kicked back at her with a couple of small cuts on his body, the wounds burned despite their small size. His own sword wasn't too far away from him.

"You challenged me when the adults were hiding in cowardice. I can respect that." She acknowledged however she knew pure bravery wasn't enough for someone like him, the difference between was too large even when she was holding back, but her opponent was just a boy with a long life ahead of him and judging from his current skill if he continued training he might be someone worth much more attention from her.

"You're young, so mistakes like that are to be expected, but there won't be a second time." She'd only hoped that he would take the hint and run away, beating someone much weaker than her left a sour taste in her mouth.

"…" Luka felt annoyed this much worse than being constantly saved by his companion, he was being spared by his enemy out of sheer pity, and he wasn't foolish enough to consider recklessly charging at her again. He would have to use that technique in order to do anything to her, maybe with just enough speed, he would be able to land a hit on her.

"I…It's not over, yet!" Yelling he stood up gripping his sword tight and looked to his opponent who was staring at him intently, there was a small flash of disappointment in her eyes before she sighed.

"Are going to ignore my advice, I won't overlook it again" Granberia warned, the boy before she ignored her warning. She was going to have to knock him out just like she did with guards And here she was hoping that there was something out there in this continent that was able to give her an entertaining challenge instead she found pathetic guards and arrogant "heroes".

A bright spark of blue light emanated from Luther as Tusk appeared above its user, the instant their eyes met the man understood the message 'help him', it almost pleaded for him to do something, to step forward and face the inferno that was burning his friend. But he couldn't fight such a monster; he could barely even watch Luka fight without cringing from every injury and sword strike. _How? Just how can Luka stand up to fight her, doesn't he feel her power!_

The stand stared down its user, feeling his dread and fear, but it remained steadfast and attempted to fill him with its courage. Results were meager, only serving to snap him out of his panicked state. It wasn't enough for Tusk, Luther was to be out there helping Luka deal with this menace, but he was hiding just like the mere citizens in this settlement. The spiritual being wanted to help its innocent friend and its user did little to discourage it as it charged the monster head-on however it was stopped by the limited range that the stand possessed, it being particularly short as it was a short-range stand.

"Chu." Chambers felt shivers run down his spine from the dissatisfied stare it was giving him. I had almost drowned out the pressure emanating from the monster Knight, it didn't have enough features to form such an expression, but it shared a link with the stand and he felt such crushing disappointment.

"What am I even supposed to do?" He whispered. "She could kill me before I even said a single word and besides that, Alice will still save him?"

For several moments he remained quiet staring off into nothing, under normal circumstances, he couldn't care less, just another person he disappointed it wasn't anything new to him and he had no objective reason to live up to people's standards. But this was his stand, a part of his own soul. Tusk was him in sense, what did this mean? Its disgust and disappointment, was actually his own emotions towards himself, his own self-loathing?

Luther peered back into battle between the fire and the fake hero, not much had changed since he last looked. Perhaps those painful time that had passed by him and his stand were mere moments in reality, by the looks of his stance the man had grown familiar with from the very few times Luka had used it the purple-haired hero is about to use the first cursed sword technique taught to him, however with how he used it the stance was giant tell on which attack he would use.

"Prepare yourself!" The boy shifting at balms of his feet envisioned himself as the technique's name implied slicing the neck of his opponent.

"If you insist…You won't regret this will you, boy?" She sighed once again and raised her guard.

"There is no way I will!" He brought the tip of his sword and aligned it to be horizontal with her neck and leaped forward towards the dragonkin with all of his might launching himself with much higher speed at her.

"What! This technique…!" From the moment his feet left the ground, she immediately recognized the cursed sword technique despite how sloppy it looked; however, someone that appeared to be a young human using a monster's technique without much trouble showed a lot of promise, more importantly, was the question on where did he learn such technique?

"No way." The attack, even with its hasty movement, was simply sidestepped by Granberia. Luka did not end up falling ground, unlike his previous mishaps that he would prefer to avoid mentioning using this move. He glanced at his current adversary who was slowly approaching him with renewed interest.

"Why do you know a monster's technique?" Luka gulped, his current strongest technique had even managed to hit his opponent, the worst part is that she recognized it before he could even get close to her, of course, she did! She was a known swordswoman that has taken down armies. It would have been strange for her if she hadn't.

"Your swordplay is sloppy, and you're still immature. There is no way you thought that up by yourself." Granberia noted, it may have been a basic skill in the cursed sword style catalog, but the technique itself didn't match the way the boy fought both in his stance and physical capabilities. She had noticed how Luka suddenly decided to shift posture and the sudden increase in speed all indicated that he learned recently and it all meant one thing.

"I want to know where you learned that move. Who taught you?" It was likely it was a monster. Few humans knew cursed sword skills since they were meant to be used by monsters because of the natural advantages they had over their fellow living species.

"…" The fake hero stayed silent at that question, he wasn't going to tell his enemy who had defeated him so easily anything simply for the sake of his bruised pride.

"Wh…why should I tell someone like you!?" In all of his defiance, Luka decided that this will be the hill he will die on.

"…I think I already know who it is." The Heavenly Knight's stoic countenance shifted into an odd smile. "In fact, I would like to have a match with this person."

"Is that person your master or something?" Her smile lasted briefly before turning back into a stern expression.

"That is…I won't say." His response did not satisfy Granberia.

"Is that so? Then…" Without warning or tell she raised the blunt part of her large blade and slammed with incredible speed into Luka's chest, bashing him into the ground, his ribcage ached and burned. The shockwave and groan of pain from Luka was felt and heard by Luther. The young boy

"Chu!" The stand exclaimed loudly once again demanding that its user intervenes in this conflict with sheer anger and bloodlust contained within the blue reflective orbs that were its eyes. Chambers right hand twitched, the current emotions of his link were overpowering than courage previously shared, it was even worse he himself felt crossed over the play of events.

"It doesn't matter, Alice will save Luka even if he did fight her" But in the end, nothing he could do would end the same way, Alice will stop Granberia's attempt at taking Luka's life. This was the outcome he was convinced would happen besides that he would be able to match her power even with the recent techniques made, this might be cowardly, but when you're in another it pays to be cautious with your life.

"I held back my attack to make sure you didn't die. Well, are you going to talk now?" The dragonkin's tone voice shifted to a more deliberate threatening tone as her presence couldn't command respect.

"U…guh.."All he could manage to blurt out, his body laid on the stone ground near broken and his consciousness was almost fading. He doubted that even actually telling the imposing monster would spare him from the fate she had in store for him. Was this the end, so early? Would Luther come to save him again, he wouldn't mind at all in this case.

"Even with that…I won't say…" Luka mustered up the last of his defiant spirit to send what could be his last glare, Granberia remained unfazed.

"Is that so?" The Heavenly Knight glanced at her blade "I don't like using my sword on the weak…but…"

Granberia slowly raised her sword in preparation for the execution. The boy beneath her stiffened and closed his eyes readying himself for the end. Luther was watching this happen as nerve-racking as it was he eagerly awaited the arrival and intervention of the Monster Lord jumping from one foot to the other as if he was some anxious child. Granberia's sword Aries was already above her head ready to chop the fake hero's head off like a guillotine

Time slowed to crawl for Luther as his impatience was slowly being replaced by horror, the realization dawned on him. Alice hasn't appeared. There was no trace anywhere to be found, all that was an inferno of dragon's fire about to consume an innocent life in front of him and he was going to watch without lifting a single finger. _No, no, NO! This isn't to be how it goes, Alice should be right there, shooing off Granberia! Why isn't she here…?_

There was one answer that kept bouncing around his mind. He did this…somehow his presence managed to change the outcome, whether this was a fluke and he was remembering wrong or true didn't matter, he had no time to ponder, somebody is about to be killed and that somebody is someone who promised to bail out during situations like this. Luther's fear was great, but it was no match to the possible guilt he would experience if he didn't do anything and let an innocent boy die, boy, he promised to help, it would be as good as killing him directly.

And it seemed Tusk was in agreement, he could sense the approval radiating off the spiritual being. The spin, the power he first used was at his disposal, and knew how he would use it here. Despite Tusk's opinion, he had no intention of harming the monster, which would only bring unwanted attention to him. No… the method he was going to be using stemmed from an accidental discovery one that brought him so much back pain much to his own chagrin. Power coursed through his legs, this time intentionally, the slightest movement could screw this up and send him straight through a building.

And so he dashed into the flames…

* * *

She was Granberia Heavenly Knight of Fire both feared and respected by many monsters and human alike currently fulfilling her "duty" of getting rid of any potential threats, although it was admittedly on her volition. Her main target, the central city Iliasburg, the continent the settlement stood upon itself was known for producing those so-called "heroes" of varying quality and the pilgrimage. It was her mission to eliminate any potential threats and as well as seeking powerful opponents.

However this venture proved fruitless, all that stood to oppose her weren't anything remarkable – just guards and novice "heroes". Every single one she took down the more bored she grew, there wasn't anyone strong enough to fight her let alone defeats her, although she did not let her boredom force her to underestimate anyone, and it would have been a crucial mistake to make.

She did find a strange purple-haired boy who seemed adamant in fighting her, his courage was certainly more admirable than the ones who were supposed to protect, his skill with a blade, however, was lacking, which is much expected for someone so young. Yet in spite of it all the warnings and chances she gave him he continued to fight her. In all honesty, it was somewhat annoying to see someone be oblivious that they are completely outmatched, or perhaps there lied more reason than sheer obliviousness. Granberia saw how Luka's stance changed, looking more like a predator ready to jump on his prey, this piqued her interest. It seemed so uncharacteristic of her young adversary.

And the Heavenly Knight saw it, a technique of the cursed sword arts, which the main purpose was to be in the usage of monsters was being used by a Human, a young one at that. The technique in question was Demon Decapitation, a skill meant to quickly and efficiently slice the neck of your opponent or multiple opponents, if not mastered it can have a predictable acceleration and arc from the jumping point. The boy was fast for a human, but not fast enough, she merely sidestepped to avoid it. Ironically regardless of her attempt, she did underestimate someone, to be fair no human under normal circumstances should know how to fight like that.

Then just how did this human come by the Cursed Sword art? By chance…no that would be impossible for someone so green to create it during training or replicate it. The only possibility was that this hero wannabe was trained by a monster, quite recently. She inquired into his skills however that garnered no response, it seemed as though the boy seemed intent on dying with lips shut. Perhaps with a little encouragement, a display of power would do the trick and should show off what's to come. The life of a warrior wasn't for everyone. It could very well end in death.

When she had crashed her sword she sensed hints of bloodlust, it was faint, but she could sense it and certainly didn't come from the boy. The intent appeared more ethereal if that could be the valid description, it was as if it didn't belong to anyone in particular. She shook her head; it might have been just the lingering malice of the town, of those hiding away in their homes. She had asked the boy again, but as before he refused to answer.

In the end, she was going to fulfill her mission, to eliminate any potential threat to monsters and a human capable of using their techniques was surely a potential one. This was how the world worked, she had given him so many warnings and chances that he chose to dismiss it, was only proper to carry out what she promised. As she slashed downward her sword to decapitate she heard a loud crash.

Before she could respond the Heavenly Knight noticed that she was pushed far away from her original location. Granberia no longer saw the purple-haired she was about to execute but instead an older and taller man stood holding her blade with a few droplets of blood dripping down the palm of his hand of his star and moon covered hands. She allowed her eyes to wander for a couple of moments, the most drawn towards two features: starlight covered hand her sword "Aries" was being held in and the scar, which judging by its appearance was caused by a deep puncture to the cheek. His face was formed into a frown.

As her fierce golden orbs started the empty grey ones she realized what happened, there was another opponent that interrupted her finishing off the boy. Who was this man, a friend of his perhaps? She moved arms to snatch the sword away; surely she would be enough to knock this human aside. However she found that her arms refused to move, the muscles were tense, and it felt as if a strange pressure was on her appendages.

* * *

It had worked, he managed to stop her, but there were other pressing matters that were important. He used to spin to launch himself towards her and to counteract the force of her swing via force going in the opposite direction neither method to achieving his goals was perfect. And now he felt the consequences of that: The force of the swing may have been stopped, but he underestimated how sharp the blade was, capable of cutting him from a simple touch, the cut on his palm and worst of all was the launch.

The amount of force produced by legs might have managed to rupture his leg muscles, judging from the pain and the feeling of shakiness, luckily the coursing energy reinforced whatever remained, preventing him from falling over immediately. Regardless of the shortcomings, he had to remain strong, lest he risks showing any sign of weakness to the Heavenly Knight. The flames, the inferno he saw before faded, leaving only a dragon lady that mirrored his own expression. Luther felt pressure, her oppressive aura now grinding against his own feeble and developing spirit.

"Who are you?" She asked with renewed interest in her voice, she had failed in one task she set on accomplishing, there were few that managed to catch her off guard. Though the lack of ability to use arms was concerning, she could still use her legs, but the very idea that he had managed to perform such a ballsy move and paralyze her arms intrigued her.

"It doesn't matter who I am… what matters is that you tried to kill my friend." They were a good few inches away from each other, if it were not for the circumstances leading to this their proximity would be considered highly intimate. His voice was filled with malice, real or not it served to simply be his attempt to reinforce his decision of going against Granberia. He had his doubts, but it would be far too awful to watch someone get their head chopped off, someone who helped him. Luther flared his aura to match that of the Dragonknight, the man had a brief idea of how long he could last like this and he didn't like his odds.

"You seek to protect him. Your intent is honorable even if you did ambush me, although we both know there is a reason for that…you cannot face me head-on." There was no hint of arrogance in that statement, she was used to being able to gauge her opponents and the man before was radiating his power freely. The stranger was powerful for a human, but no match for her…though it did beg the question of how she had not sensed this power, the main characteristic of this aura is the sheer unexpected spike in power one would not expect in a human. If she were a lesser monster she would have underestimated him, but she is a Heavenly Knight it was expected of her to be undefeatable in battle.

"Stop…I have seen enough…" A familiar voice called to them, Luther and Granberia recognized and knew it belonged to, although it possessed much more commanding intent.

They both allowed themselves to look at the origin point of the voice, almost like they were in agreement to find out who interrupted their squabble. The Heavenly Knight's eyes widened at the sight, it was a peculiar white-haired woman, more accurately a disguised form The Monster Lord, and the only authority she had the obligation to listen to. Luther's reaction was far stranger, a cross between a sigh of relief and growl of frustration, for whatever the case was Alice picked a dramatic time to intervene. The only thing the man wished for was for her to do so sooner.

"You!" Was the only dragon-like monster uttered as she ignored to kneel before her superior, causing Luther to stumble for a moment, legs practically screaming at him to stop straining them? His power was not the only thing he was using to keep himself up, but also using his enemy as support partly the reason he was leaning into her so much.

This provoked another low and quiet growl from the man. _Come on legs, don't fail me here…_

"I have determined that you are all absolute idiots." The lamia grumbled, she was faced with another instance of her subordinates disobeying her orders along with the utter stupidity of the ones she traveled with.

"Ehh… ?!" While being called an idiot by Alice wasn't new, in fact, Luka was convinced that this might become a repeating pattern of vocal abuse from the monster, what he did not expect was the view of seeing such a powerful monster kneeling before his 'companion'. Did he underestimate Alice that much or perhaps he did die and this was just his punishment for failing, being tormented by the gluttonous lamia?

"Granberia…" She was peeved, she had mostly expected this behavior from other subordinates and even then they had their excuses, but this was a blatant violation. "What are you doing? Who ordered you to do such a thing?"

"I decide by myself. To get rid of those annoying heroes, I…" She might have been disobeying her commands, but she was ultimately doing her a favor with the amount of "heroes" being produced in this continent; it was only a matter of time when a competent threat appeared, but Alice had no intention of listening to her any further.

"Go away…you annoyance" The Monster Lord stated flatly, she wanted the dragonkin out of her sight, her reasoning was flawed, there was no way a human that powerful would randomly appear just because a town remained unconquered.

"B…But! If I leave now, even more heroes will show up…" Her words fell on deaf ears. Luka was puzzled, to say the least, he saw the imposing Heavenly knight reduced to someone who had to try to reason and plead, even her oppressive aura had started to dissipate.

"I told you to go away". The disguised lamia's voice grew louder. "If you go berserk like this, how am I going to eat the Ama-ama Dango?"

"If you want something like that, just let me take control of the city first…" Luka froze at Granberia's proposition, if there was one thing that could get Alice to listen, it was food. From the few interactions, he had with her even he could tell she was a glutton that cared for very little other than food.

"How can I sightsee with such an unsightly event like that going out? Idiot. Having to say the same thing three times…is how you show your loyalty. I told you to go away" She wanted pure experience on her adventure and conquest for fine cuisine, but what angered more was her subordinate's insistence on disobeying orders.

" At once…If that's your will, now if you excuse me…" Seeing there was no way to convince her lord otherwise, she hung her head low; she bowed and vanished away from the wrecked city plaza leaving only a small trace amount of her energy.

"…We did it…" Luka exhaled in relief, the monster that was "rampaging" and the one that was going to kill him was ultimately driven away by none other than Alice. He was surprised, the one who coldly told him she was going to watch him be taken by a monster had saved him … he didn't know what to think.

***THUD***

The fake hero's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Luther dropping to the ground, his legs and power had given out, and now he was just another body lying in the plaza although, granted at least he was conscious as evident by the burning pain in his legs and bleeding palm. Luther felt how shaky his connection to tusk was, it was…recovering and he was unable to use his powers no matter how many times he tried. Tusk did not hear his call, he had never been this…fragile before and it pained him so much to be in such a state. _I feel so weak, this is pathetic…there has got to be some way to fix this…_

"Luther!" Luka's body hurt, but he ignored the pain to attend to the current needs of his companion however he could, and he saw something that saddened him. The normally stoic Luther looked to be in much pain and distress, it didn't matter if he held all in and tried to hide it the purple-haired boy could see through it.

"I'm fine…" The man groaned out, his focus was fading the only thing he could pay attention to was his body condition and his "companions" and even then his consciousness had trouble staying clear-minded.

"What the hell were you idiots thinking!? Rushing in like that!" Alice wasn't surprised at Luther's collapse, she observed how wobbly his appearance was as if he could tip over at any moment. They tried to fight a powerful monster and ended up being beaten black and blue, at least one of them that is. She was certainly quite a bit astonished at speed the older fellow had managed to launch himself with though admittedly at a cost.

"I…" Before even Luka could try to explain himself…

"And what about you! Jumping in between an attack like that, peculiar powers or not you had no business with trying to fight a Heavenly Knight. Now, look at you, practically dead weight with those torn muscles." Each word cut deeper into Luther, but he had heard worse in the past, it did hurt as much as his legs did, however, there was something that did irritate him, the only reason he did such a reckless move was because of her not showing up when needed.

"Now Alice that's a bit uncalled for…"

"What else was I supposed to do?" Chamber's voice turned cold as he shot a dark glare at the Monster Lord. "Watch and let Luka's head get split from his neck?"

Alice raised an eyebrow, there was much anger directed towards her that wasn't unexpected from the man. To be honest there wasn't much to expect from him but silence and a couple of short remarks, so she hadn't formed much of a profile on him. "You didn't have to do that…for your information, I was going to intervene and stop her from killing him."

"How was Luther supposed to know that? You told us that you weren't going to help me." This time Luka spoke up, what he said had surprised – a valid argument using her own words against her, granted she did try to drill that message into his empty head.

"I suppose your right." Alice her expression softened. "Regardless you shouldn't have fought someone so powerful; in fact, she shouldn't have even been here in the first place."

"What does that mean?" Perplexed, the purple-haired boy referred to the last part of her sentence.

"Nothing." She shook her head and looked away from the boy.

Both feeling the oppressive atmosphere disappear and seeing the obvious lack of the dragon knight from the city plaza the residents went out of their barricaded homes and places, slowly approaching the area where the main action took place, relieved to see such a threat to their livelihoods driven away by what looked to be a peculiar group of people. No matter how much commotion and celebration went on. Luther's mind was becoming more muddled and tired, he couldn't keep up or remember much of what had occurred further.

* * *

Luther Chambers took what relaxation he could from the steaming large bath he was laying in, something he had specifically requested in the Sutherland Inn for the sake of privacy, well-deserved comfort, and time with his thoughts. Within the time he was laying he had managed to recover somewhat…as much as a man could when said person temporarily lost the use of their legs. But still a hot warm bath in this fantastical time period. He was relaxed, his thoughts were in place currently recalling

When the citizens approached they were concerned for him of course, more so than their own guards, but that was to be expected since they were the ones that "saved" the city. They tried to help as much as they could, bandaging his arm up however internal injuries were forced to remain as they could nothing about it, they assumed it was simply physical exhaustion…too bad he didn't have the clarity to correct them, Alice, Luka or anybody else.

After that, they reached the famous inn and discovered its horrifying pricing causing Alice to have second thoughts about stopping her subordinate from taking over, however, thankfully their selfless and courageous actions managed to earn them the heroes discount which managed to reduce the outrages cost to a measly gold coin for person per day while the rest of the amount was sent to Ilias temple. _The temple must be loaded if they handle that much for all heroes traveling._

They went there, and here he was sitting in a warm bath covered by luxurious red curtains, despite its basic and large appearance on the outside it housed lavish luxuries within its walls, high-quality painting adorned the wall, large living quarters, more than comfortable beds, and good bathing space along with hot water. The man had to savor this. It was one of the few times where he could fully relax.

And yet…he wasn't fully at peace, even disregarding his own doubt and dread of ever escaping this world, there was something more prominent occupying his mind: The battle with Granberia and his own actions and their consequences. Sure, he succeeded in his semi suicidal attempt at stopping her from executing Luka, but in the process had managed to get a cut on his arm and more importantly his severely strained legs, they weren't broken yet the muscles were torn. It was likely he wouldn't be able to stand properly for a long period of time, judging by the damage it might take a week or two for him to walk. Luther had never felt so pathetic in his life, even with his fallings in his personal life with the exception of awful love life they didn't compare.

It was even worse when Alice called him dead weight for that in all honesty that stung him more than should have perhaps because it simply further reinforced the idea of what state he was in, of course, Luka tried to console him in whatever he could but it was ineffective, given Alice own refusal to help him Luka would likely have to carry him. The cut in his arm he did not mind, the legs would likely serve to keep him up at night. Would this one mistake really wound that much? Was it even a mistake? Could he attempt to make any further ones? How would he even defend himself?

Furthermore, the small amount of recovery he made wasn't for Tusk to be brought back, it was still dormant. He didn't even have his stand to comfort him who he found in a short period of time he was with, it was the only presence he could rely on and he hadn't meant any offense to his "companions", but… _I can't get too close to them. It would only serve to make the eventual parting more difficult…if there would be a parting at all._

Most of his injuries were self-inflicted, and even though he didn't envy him, Luka was the only one that took a direct hit from Granberia and he recovered quite quickly, probably given his unique heritage although Chambers still saw him wincing occasionally.

If only there was some way for him to heal as quickly as his purple-haired companion, he didn't have any innate supernatural stamina or healing ability, he only had the spin, which wasn't capable of healing the damage and his stand even with its further acts was mostly offensive. even if it could help he wasn't able to call on it. _Nothing in my repertoire helps me, the spin or my stand, it's useless…wait if I am able to use the spin and stand powers then…no…the answer right in my face... Hamon._

Energy used in ancient martial art style called Sendō which benefits include, not counting the actual supernatural techniques themselves that can burn away any undead creature, increased overall strength and stamina, the ability to turn most mundane objects into weapons, slowing the aging process and most importantly a healing factor. All this can be accomplished by breathing in a certain pattern, it wasn't as simple as it sounded, but if he could do it for a short while. perhaps it would aid his situation if only a bit.

The question was how he would even do it. He hadn't any knowledge of how to use it, no master to teach him, only its results. At least with the spin, Luther had some reference to work with the damn sphere, thankfully he had gotten good enough with tusk help to ignore that step, it almost came to him naturally, a bit like breathing…

There was one way, it was going to be painful and tedious as he wasn't an expert at the ripple, neither was he that precise with his fingers. He had to force himself to breathe in that pattern and remember it if it was even possible which he was confident it could be done after all when he can use the Spin and Tusk, so why can't he harness the power of Hamon?

He took his left hand and closed it so that only his pinky fingers remained. Chambers pointed his finger towards the lower region of his chest, to his diaphragm, and rammed them into it full speed. It hurt a bit, but no air rushed out of his lungs. The failure however did not discourage him to try further, he had nothing to lose, just a bit of his own comfort for the possibility to heal his legs.

"Ahh!" Chambers continued trying it in different spots, each time felt more or less painful than the other, he had managed to get a certain theory: that there was a certain correlation to the magnitude of pain and how close he was to achieving his goal because he discreetly remembered that this method involved a great deal of it, nonetheless he would endure if it meant he could heal his torn muscles faster.

After more increasingly agonizing attempts he narrowed it down to centerfold, just slightly below the lungs. Composing himself, he slammed into that exact spot much to his surprise and dismay it sank in bringing in more agony than he imagined. The air in his lung left bit by bit until nothing remained. Luther unjammed his finger, leaned further into the wall trying to catch a breath with haste. _I…I can't breathe… somebody helps me…_

No matter how many times he tried, no amount of air entered his lungs, like they gained a will of their own and were intent on letting him die for the crimes committed on his body, for tearing off his own loyal muscles that worked hard to satisfy his intent. It did or die, he needed air else he suffocated from his own making. He needed to think…fast.

Perhaps he was going about this the wrong way; Sendō is about deep meditative intakes of breath. What he did was supposed to force that state, so what was wrong? And then it hit him, he was still relying on instinct that pleaded for panicked rapid hyperventilation, but his lungs refused that. If Luther wanted to survive, he would have to focus, ironically disregarding his survival instinct and aid him on so many different occasions and depend on conscious effort. _I don't want to die…not now._

It was hard but he collected himself as much as he could to stop his instinct's attempt at suicide and so began the meditative breathing, it was strange, awkward…the pattern was unlike any other granted he wasn't someone who subscribed to the notion of meditating or any mystical arts that involved concepts like chi or any other inner energy and here he was in a world where magic and mystical creatures that pursue the contents of his balls…how ridiculous.

This technique, seemed to stop any attempt of normal inhalation as was evident when he dropped his focus and let his instinct reign supreme for a moment, what a mistake that was. But this was temporary, he would be able to go about his day normally.

And then he felt it, Hamon flowing through his body. Whereas the spin was like a maelstrom that raced back forth restlessly, this energy was more of a stream of water gently flowing through him, rippling outwards out, ironically he had better control over the Spin, perhaps this was simply the man he was. But this ripple, he had never felt this healthy in his entire life even with these injuries, he felt like he could take on the world, he felt…whole, his chest felt a little easier and lighter.

Its healing was in effect. Luther ripped off the bandage covering his injured palm, it had stopped bleeding a while ago. Sparks of golden energy erupted out of the wound while also a soft almost invisible silvery aura covered his entire arm; in fact, it covered his entire body; he didn't let this distract him, however. Chamber felt the fatigue causing, burning, and stinging sensation in his legs slowly ever so slowly starting to disappear as the same energy, it wasn't as fast as the cut, but it was to be expected.

"This...is fantastic…akch!" The man croaked out, as he felt like he was suffocating and suddenly remembered that he needed to keep his concentration. "Right, almost forgot, just need to relax…"

He further submerged himself deeper into the bath where his chin was just below the water continuing to channel Hamon through his body after all the warmth wasn't going anywhere; he no longer felt pain, but lingering fatigue and numbness and had also noticed the faint ripples in the water protruding outwards his body, they seemed to match the pattern happening in his own body.

It was the reason for the name: Hamon or the Ripple, it was because of the moving patterns caused by its users in the water along with any other organic material. The contrast with the Spin was evident, yet the flow was much harder to control.

His pondering and relaxation were interrupted by the illustrious red curtains being opened by a familiar presence, a purple-skinned lamia that stiffened. sniffing in the air for a moment before entering. Luther had to admit that he was never comfortable with Alice around, granted he was uncomfortable with monsters in general, but there was something special about her suspicion towards him and the fact she was also THE Monster Lord someone that can take him out in but an instant stand or no stand.

"Alice…is there something you want to ask? This bath is only for one I'm afraid." There was a hint of nervousness within that fake chuckle as he kept up his Hamon breathing. The Monster Lord's gaze appeared more predatory than normal.

"Luther…you smell _good…really good._ " Her voice was on edge of desire and becoming sultrier as she moved slightly closer to him. " _I think we can squeeze in quite nicely together…_ "

Even a daft man could predict Alice's next course of action and at that moment all of his previously thought to be unfounded fears proved to be true, he froze in slow realization, the water no longer warmed him as much as it did, he felt cold, colder than the room he was in. He couldn't believe what was going to happen, he didn't want to believe at all… _No…this can't be happening to me…Why me?_

"Please Alice…don't do this, I don't enjoy that kind of physical contact." It wasn't a lie, before coming to this bizarre world he remained what could be called celibate for two years straight for reasons. rather left buried deep within his heart until burned a hole in it and burned a hole it did, and he was left to fill that hole with friends and making love to booze bottles, but they were just that – empty, hollow, short-lasting pleasures that satisfied him temporarily until he had to keep doing them again and again. It _almost_ ruined him. Luther was forced back up.

"There is nothing to be scared off…" She continued. "I think we both can enjoy this if only you relax a bit more, I can try to make this quick, _no promises though_."

Alice took off her clothing as she lowered herself into the water showing her bare assets in all their glory, but this was no time or place for Luther to even try liking anything that came with the view. The lamia slithered up the frightened man wrapping around his body bottom to the lower part of his chest, unlike the last time this happened it was surprisingly gentle despite the snake monster's rampant desire.

"Oh~…I can feel your energy through your skin." She moaned out, her long tongue dragged across the man's cheek, the very action made him nearly gag. He had no way to escape the Monster Lord's grasp, the situation was even worse than with the roper and Granberia: his stand went dormant and he doubted he could do anything with the basic spin all he had was Hamon, its meditative properties being the only keeping him from doing anything rash or having a mental breakdown. He had nothing. All he wanted to for all this to go away.

 _I don't want to be here…_ The air in the bath got considerably colder, his Hamon breathing pace got faster.

 _I don't want to feel…_ Some of the water around them froze. His silvery aura took on a more turquoise shade as it started sparking to life as some of the air moved like streams around them.

 _I don't want to see her…_ His body grew even colder below what could be acceptable for a living human.

"Ah!" The purple-skinned lamia gasped in sudden pain letting go of her victim, the cold had given back her senses. Her mind had been so…muddled, fuzzy she wasn't exactly aware of what happened all she knew now was that she was in a cold bath naked. One moment she was talking to Luther and the other…she looked at the source of the pain on her hands and realized it. _Frostbite…nothing that couldn't be healed._

She looked to where Luther was supposed to be and the source of sudden frost. Her eyes winded as she saw the scene before her. Luther was cowering on the now water turned to ice in a fetal position rocking back and forth while muttering a mantra of three sentences and the most notable feature to all of this, it appeared as though his entire being was surrounded by a blizzard. An icy storm raged around him circling his body, freezing the water, covering the walls and ceiling in ice, yet Luther didn't seem to sustain any damage.

The monster thought it would best to flee for the moment but not before taking her clothes and giving him one last look, their eyes met. That was the last she saw of him that day…

* * *

**Luther's notes: missing link?**

**Hamon or the Ripple is a…interesting energy form, I'm not exactly sure if I can call it that since quite different from its original counterpart, to put it simply: Unlike the original which utilizes power similar to the sun this one synchronizes a person's soul with their body. Magical and spiritual power becomes physical, one's speed, and strength, as well as the regeneration of stamina and general body health. Of course, Sendō** **being purely a spiritual technique, unlike the Spin, substantial evidence is hard to gather and is often inconclusive with the exception of certain points. However, there might some speculations that prove to be true during the further study.**

**Sendō breathing possesses calming properties, often keeping a person in control of their emotions, yet ironically a user's Hamon changes based on their emotional state or their personality outright. For example, a hotheaded individual's Hamon may burn hotter and brighter than others, however, this doesn't come with any drawbacks. It seems as though certain personality traits or emotions may inhibit the ability to use techniques, but may bring new ones and empower others.**

**Furthermore what I found intriguing was that different species receive different use from such a technique varying in degrees of quality. Obviously, monsters that are undead are completely incapable of using it and are even harmed by it more, it is likely it would result in suicide if one non-naturally living being were to use it. But going back on topic humans appear to benefit from it more than monsters. The overall power increase was proportionally more than that of their predatory species. I'm still quite unsure of what that means…but I have several theories I would be more than happy to discuss with anyone reading this.**

**On that topic, angels are also incapable of using Hamon due to their apparent lack of real physical forms to synchronize to. What it is also to note is that it enables physical beings to directly interact with spiritual ones such as ghosts, spirits, or the formally mentioned angels.**

**There is one unsavory drawback of Hamon is that the user radiates their own excess life force into the air as a result a person scent increases in quality and quantity and they act like a giant beacon to those that can sense: Monsters and Angels. Moreover, Angels and Monsters have a variety of first-time reactions to Hamon based on several circumstances such: general disposition, nature, personality, and hunger… Some are often overwhelmed and enter a lust-filled state, others simply find themselves more attracted and attached to the individual (this is more common after frequent exposure). Accounts of Monsters often state feeling a pleasant and welcoming aura coming off the individual.**

**I do admit that I am no natural in the art. I almost died of suffocation when I tried to use it for the first time, and beyond two techniques and their passive effects. I lack the talent to use to its fullest extent unlike some of the people I know.**


	6. Angle

**Alice's POV**

Luther…

If there was one way to describe the man it would be the complete opposite of the purple-haired "hero". Physically Luka was a very short boy who had a cheerful, innocent charm and stuck out like a thumb with his appearance while Luther was like a tall and silent giant with duller colors that seemed to be all too willing to hide away in a crowd, she was still taller than him, granted she had to stand on the near end of her tail to be so…if she was still her petty child self she would be pissed off by that fact.

Luka was naïve, incredibly so, willing to believe the chance of coexistence between monster and humans as well as having a rather simple view of the world thinking all of it would be solved by her death as if the world's ongoing squabbles will vanish into thin air and it will all be sunshine and rainbows, but it was his positivity was strangely admirable when it wasn't annoying and he did have determination.

Luther was a quiet and enigmatic figure almost seeming lost in thought most of the time during her conversations with Luka, but she knew better…that silence was simply a defense mechanism. It took a while to realize but the first time they met and their eyes met she saw through his silent mask, behind it was hiding was an empty and lost individual apathetic to the world around him, having no true purpose except for a few instances where she saw rare flashes of determination and kindness that were perplexing. She had no words to explain it, but she would rather bear Luka's stupidity than truly see Luther take off his mask, there was something strangely repulsive and eerie about it. Just what was the cause of this, his long adventuring making him cynical of the world? She didn't know… the man in question did not wear his past or his heart on his sleeves. This was as much as she knew about him and she didn't even know if any of it was true, which she suspected to be the case.

Yet despite all of those differences in character, Luka and Luther got along. He hadn't insulted Luka, even was encouraging his growth in power and offered small advice along the way, they never argued unlike she did, even argued against her together, but the purple-haired boy has it all coming it doesn't matter if someone else feels a little magnanimous. The boy needed to be taught a lesson in how the real world works.

With the display that happened in the plaza, she had clearly seen both the males' preference regarding thought and action, Luka bravely charged in to face a Heavenly Knight whereas Luther stood from the shadows and watched only intervening when he saw fit, his hiding away couldn't be blamed by The Monster Lord, it was wiser than Luka's downright attempt at suicide that also inspired him to try his hand at fighting or at the very least stopping one of her strongest subordinates and it had surprisingly worked… if only temporarily.

His personality and past were not the only secrets, in fact, they were the least obvious ones. His powers were the ones to draw the most attention for her, these strange capabilities were the only reason the man was able to pull off what he did in the plaza. The spin, he called it…a curious thing she would have shrugged off if she was a monster with lesser perception, but she had seen its effects first hand when he threw rock sphere at the slug girl and nothing escapes her eyes.

She saw how the rocky projectile flew, almost as if the general laws of physics didn't apply to it for a short time. How it bent the residual energy in the air to its whim in the shape of a rotation quite fitting for its name, but if it did just that there wouldn't be much to take note off, no…the terrifying part of it happened during the impact with the monster's face. Whatever the ability was, it had managed to disrupt the normal energy flow inside the monster's body if only temporarily, it wouldn't matter if the hit hadn't knocked the poor girl out she would still be too disoriented to respond properly enough for another shot or attack.

There are magic and objects that can interact with the body and even the mind through either paralysis, charms, transmogrification and you can even count destructive spells into the list, but they did just that, interact with the body. And then there are curses and seals they did interact with the inner energy of living beings… However curses were more of a lingering presence on the soul that could be purified only making a difference if the one who created was exceptionally powerful, and seals could be broken or even resisted and had a habit of wearing off without reapplication with some exceptions.

"The Spin" managed to directly disrupt energy, the only thing that did something so similar was an item in her possession…Angel Halo, a weapon against her immortal enemy, granted the eldritch blade was a step above, taking away power with every wound inflicted on the target, just holding it was enough to extend the effect to the rest of your attacks regardless of the blade is used. Still, the ability could prove useful in fighting those angels and their pesky intangible forms.

She is planning to give the blade to the fake hero, it was obvious from her own observations that the boy wasn't fighting as fully as he could, there was the reason for some of his mistakes in the form, specifically the insistence of using half swings and his overly defensive stance which hindered him more than it helped, the enemy wasn't going to have the generosity to wait for your attack. One of the reasons she taught him a Cursed Sword technique, not only did serve as a small experiment to see firsthand a human handle it, but it was also a bit of irony, given that the style was of monstrous origin and an aggressive one, pushing the enemy into a corner or outright executing them exploiting the user's superior power.

She had the idea of learning this "Spin" directly or indirectly either through his teaching or her castle's archives, or if she was desperate enough to seek Tamano's advice, but Luther seemed intent on keeping his lips shut only slipping out the name and the fact that it belonged to a sole family (which was very useful in narrowing it down). His reasoning on him and his family members keeping it hidden was understandable, she had her own secrets to keep for the sake of comfort which he himself hadn't even tried to pry into, and besides, she got some information

And perhaps some of his own… there was one slip up during the second day with him that had managed to make her heart stop for a moment particularly when she had decided to wake him up and his first intention on saying something that began with the article 'the'. Could he already know? For how long? She did drop hints, but the instinct indicated previous knowledge, it did explain the uneasiness she sensed and if it was true…how? She did try to make her identity and appearance a secret from the general human populous.

It mattered not how much she theorized, she would still find out the truth as she intended on questioning him away from the ears of the purple-haired boy, however, it didn't go as she planned…

As soon as she went into the bathroom something unexpected happened, she lost control, her base instincts pushed out conscious thought, and became dominant demanding to take the man as her own. It was admittedly shameful to be put in such a crazed state for someone like her. She was not a lesser monster to let her instinct so easily control her, although she did indulge in it and had been hungry, yet it was no reason for her act in such away. It was a strange and dreadful experience, there was a feeling of control, but it was just that, only a feeling, in reality, she was just a passenger in her own body. She was warm, her mind was numb, but her body was sensitive, on fire, and Luther's scent became much stronger. Why was this? If she hadn't regained control, she might have lost her virginity right then and there.

If she hadn't regained control…the subject around that was also mysterious as her loss of it, the welcoming and warm aura coming from her possible victim suddenly changed into a biting chill snapping in her back into consciousness and leaving her with the realization that she was naked in a bath and currently wrapped around Luther, her mind had processed this information along with the returning memories of what had happened, and before she could respond the man before was covered by a blizzard that was damaging her muttering to himself a series of sentences in mantra-like fashion. Luther Chambers, a fellow traveler and a man that had a habit of saving a certain purple-haired hero was reduced into a cowering mess...

Before she left in haste, she looked back one last time and their eyes met. Alice had never thought she would ever feel guilty about anything relating to this, was it her loss of control? Or more likely Luther's severe reaction to her that realistically she could never anticipate from a human, there was so much fear, pain, and… feeling of betrayal coming from him, it was unexpected. It all ate at her and it would continue to do so unless she reconciled.

But why did he react like this? Surely someone who is a regular wanderer that was part of an adventure familial line and seemed to be pretty accepting of monsters if he tolerated her presence, shouldn't be used to monsters trying to sexually assault him, he didn't have to try to be accepting of his fate- that was not her point. Regardless of what she thought the there was one definite conclusion: she had underestimated how many secrets Luther was keeping, both about his capabilities and past, it wasn't an accusation of blame however Alice had never lost control like this before in her life, it must have been something either both them weren't aware of or on the off chance maybe he was aware, but his reaction said otherwise. Even with her desire for answers, she doubted he would be willing to disclose any information, especially now, she also doubted whether she even had the will to try to hypnotize him, and besides even with his power he wouldn't be able to do much to her.

The incident had only served to increase her hunger, something about his scent and her instinct's take over had left some lasting effects, she would have sated her desire soon…maybe she would have better luck interacting with Luka and partake in sampling a bit of his semen…

* * *

**Next Day**

With a rough groan Luther woke up in a room quite different from the bathroom he was last in and with clothes on as well, he looked around and saw he was laying on a large windowsill just slightly above the ground surrounded by wine bottles four which were empty. As he put the pieces together it hit him: his killing headache, the empty bottles of wine acted as triggers in unlocking memories of his…escapades.

After the very unpleasant incident with Alice, his body went on autopilot and had managed to sneak in into the inn's cellar grabbing a couple of bottles from it, for an inn this luxurious it had very low security, and now he was in a room he didn't recognize covered in bottles. Chambers was sure he could fill in the blanks of what had happened with a single sentence: he got drunk and now he is hungover, thankfully his clothes didn't smell like him.

"Uhhh…" Then there is the problem with Alice, he didn't want to think about it, but it kept popping back into his head no matter how many times he blocked those thoughts out. To think he would be targeted by her in such a manner…and it all happened so suddenly as soon as she slithered into the bath, there was no doubt that this was intentional…that he nearly got raped, but why? What got her attention enough to justify performing such a heinous action to him? His body would have defiled if it weren't for…

What did happen? What made her stop?

And then he remembered – the frost, it was a feeling or rather lack of feeling that was so familiar to him, which he used when retreating from difficult situations however it had been only just that, a feeling. Something happening within himself that rarely affected others unless they noticed, but now it had affected someone and his surroundings _physically by_ creating an ice shell, a blizzard around him. Why was this and more importantly why now? Was this simply the right circumstance for his apathy to be made manifest? Magic was real in this world after all...

He closed his eyes in focus as he tried to gather his composure, the answer to his question lied in the series of events predating him summoning blizzard despite how much pained him to do. There were several points to make note of: Tusk or the spin couldn't do anything similar to this and realistically he couldn't use them at all in that situation there was something else at his disposal that might have caused it to happen. Hamon – it was life energy, a purely spiritual concept all things considered, to it was bound to be strange and otherworldly, a high chance the state of it was connected to his own emotional state, it almost cliché for these concepts to be like this: Chi, Ki, whatever you called was connected to a person's mental well-being.

And then, what now? Luther may have uncovered the reason for his frost powers, but still didn't change his situation; he was alone in a room and Alice was likely still out there, meeting her wasn't a matter of if, only a matter of when. What would happen to him, would she try continuing from were left off, or has she taken her to fill from Luka? He noticed his hands were shaking and for good reason – he was afraid and he knew it and fully acknowledged it.

The man glanced at the remaining three bottles that had yet to be drunk from and opened one, bringing it lips he sipped the contents of the wine bottle, the grape alcohol entered his mouth leaving the right balance of acidity and sweetness, overall although he preferred the taste of strong liquors he could see why anyone would enjoy its taste and why he would get drunk on it, all honestly he would take anything to get drunk on after what he had experienced. And so a sip turned into a large gulp.

"Chu." A familiar spectral starry figure appeared above the sitting Luther with what would be a disappointing glare if the stand had any more detail in its face, but that didn't matter; he could feel the disappointment welling up inside of him. With his stand being active again Chambers felt a lot less empty than he did before, it seemed to have entered a dormant state after his whole debacle with Granberia.

"Oh…come on, you can't blame me after what happened, and besides it would be a shame to waste such good wine." The man complained it was still a bit strange talking to what was essentially a reflection of you.

"Chu…!"The stand however had no patience for his excuses, lightly knocking into him, pushing him against the closed window.

"Uhh…fine…" Luther put the now closed alcohol bottle on the floor aligning them with one another and then slowly wrapped his arm around Tusk's much smaller body. It was a peculiar sensation; any feeling of touch for the stand was shared by Luther so it all felt like he was hugging himself as well as Tusk's head pressing against his chest, it felt comforting strangely enough.

"I…I just don't know what to do…" He whispered out to the stand earning a small comforting coo from it, he didn't know if he was able to get as close to someone similar for a while, his last intimate experience was far from pleasant…he felt strange shivers down his spine as an aura approached the door hiding him away from the rest of the inn.

"Luther, are you here?" The man heard a voice muffled by the wall of the room he occupied that made his blood run cold. It was unmistakably the voice of the Monster Lord, Alipheese Fateburn XVI. He froze and remained unmoving for a couple of moments commanding his stand to disappear, for the time being, his mind going through a million different possibilities narrowing down his choices as it went by. He couldn't hide, there wasn't anything around him that would conceal him properly, her superior senses would sniff him out in an instant, that's probably how she found him in the first place. He could try to ambush her, which even if it worked he doubted whether he could do any serious damage before he was either raped or blown to smithereens.

If only there was something he could…

If only he wasn't so…

The door opened.

"So… this is where you hid off." The purple-skinned lamia, her tone was solemn that quickly changed to a more uncharacteristically concerned one as she saw the surroundings – Luther frozen in fear, his condition looked worse for wear, and the bottles that surrounded his feet led to a less than a fortunate conclusion. "Are you okay?"

"Stay back!" Her concern fell on deaf ears as the man fearfully stumbled back into the windowsill pointing one finger stretched out, Alice would find the display ridiculous if it weren't for the circumstances and a certain oddity. She observed the outstretched finger and saw something peculiar – a fingernail was spinning on above the fingertip in a tornado-like fashion and its energy was so similar to the rock he threw at the slug girl, yet there was something about she didn't fully recognize. Another "surprise" coming from Luther, well at this point it wasn't much of a surprise for Alice…he might as well announce himself a deity and she wouldn't bat an eye although it was very much doubtful to be true given his current state.

"Calm down, I'm not here to do anything to you…" She spoke slowly, it was likely the situation would have escalated further if she had acted in any way differently, forcing her to incapacitate the man by the assortment of means she had through force or hypnosis. But Luther was unconvinced remaining in his defensive position, with a skeptical glare if only wearing slightly.

"Why should I believe you, I'm cornered in this room with you here, aren't I? And what about that time in the bath, how should I trust you after that?" The spinning nail spun much faster, his confident questioning was only a façade deep down he was even afraid after her appearance, and the fact that he was alone in a secluded space with her here boded unwell for him.

"That's why I'm here…" Luther stiffened at his paranoia being confirmed, his stretched out finger was the only thing shaking, and the nail bullet on the verge of being shot at the monster. "I came here to apologize…and for some clarification."

"What?" The man blinked in surprise, before adjusting himself to a more comfortable sitting position however keeping The Spin active in hands, a part of him truly doubted whether he could anything to purple lamia, but it simply more comforting and calming to have something to protect himself with or perhaps this was just Tusk's influence that kept him from snapping. He felt the stand within him try to calm as much as it could, Luther was glad to have it by his side during the trying times and future if he survived for so long...

"I…" She closed her hand into a fist gripping it tightly. "I don't know what happened, one moment I entered the room the other I was wrapped around you…I guess… I lost control, which has never happened before like this. My intent there was much different… then the result…I'm sorry."

Luther Chamber's eyes winded, the glass broke in his mind as the paranoia generated previously flushed out into cautiousness, the rotation on his stretched out index finger's nail stopped though the man still remained wary of the monster's presence. If what she said was true, that meant something happened beyond their knowledge, his mind scrambled for any answers, there was nothing in the situation that would have caused it, nothing obvious…

"What's with that?! I'm perfectly capable of admitting to faults as anyone else can, I'm not some child! And besides, dancing around the issue would have been a waste of time." Annoyed she crossed her arms. Her sudden outburst had managed to relieve some of the tension causing Luther to snort, which made Alice narrow her eyes down at the insolent man.

"Right…sorry, I just don't know what to say…" He responded raising up his arms before he incurred any further wrath, he had no desire for further conflict in spite of his previous defensive actions partly for the current mystery being brought up. _If I believe her…then what does that mean? That something forced her to lose control, but what?_

His mind reluctantly placed through the unfortunate event paying careful attention to any plausible details, at some moments he had to pause himself before continuing further. A single line stuck out to him, the very first thing she had said to him, something _particular_ about his scent. Had the strength of his scent increased, but how and why? It was obviously not a permanent change or else he would be stuck in the same situation. Soon the pieces of information gathered together: His scent increased, but it wasn't permanent, which caused her to lose control, she only stopped after he conjured up that strange blizzard, at the time he had no access to Tusk or The Spin and he was healing using…

_No…it couldn't be…can't it?_

All in the meanwhile the Monster lord took a deep breath composing her before going through with her original intent to question whether the man knew of her true identity.

"You may not forgive me, but I can at least tell you that my original intent was to question you." This immediately broke him out of his thoughts. "You know, don't you? My true identity…"

Admittedly it didn't come as much of a surprise as her apology, given that he already saw her command a heavenly knight at the plaza yesterday and the lamia's subtle reactions of the mere mention of the Monster Lord it, it would take a special type of person to not figure out her identity. So in circumstances, it would be an obvious conclusion, he himself had expected to be confronted about this sooner or later simply because he was fully conscious during her debacle with Granberia. At this point, there was no use in lying.

"I had my suspicions that you were someone important, given your unique appearance and power, but it was practically confirmed in my eyes after you stopped that Heavenly Knight." But nothing prevented him from telling a half-truth, even without outsider knowledge the man would at least assume she took a high ranking position, and from the interaction with Heavenly Knight it would be obvious, so he spoke as a man unaware of the story or any of the character, just an adventurer hopelessly wandering the earth.

What made him uncomfortable most about her was the reaction to his theatrics, she narrowed a suspicious gaze at him that gave the idea that she knew more than he told her, and it was like she was undressing him, searching for any sign of falsehoods within his words and chances were she had found them.

"Is that so?..."

"Because I think you knew sooner, I might have wholeheartedly believed what you said, it wasn't for that one slip up when I hit on the head, I believe you were going to say 'the' before suspiciously stopping yourself." She smirked. "And don't tell me I didn't notice how cautious you were around me."

…

 _Shit…well she saw right through my lie_. He froze, not really knowing how to respond to her accusation properly without outright saying the truth and what would he even say, that she was a fictional character? Or could he leave it as just a simple yes, but that would only lead to more questions? _Damn it… had I underestimated her intelligence? No, I underestimated her perception; if you have that then it would be completely obvious that something was up if you weren't oblivious._

Suddenly an idea sprung into his head, if he wanted to keep his charades up he had to continue playing his role in the world, an adventurer with a few strange tricks up his sleeve that has traveled around the world for a while now, this was something he could use, his own fabricated identity as an advantage.

"Yes, I did know beforehand…" He took a deep breath, the monster's smirking winded. "During my travels, I had found out that the current monster lord was unique looking lamia very similar to the previous ruler from various sources."

Alice smirk disappeared turning into a soft frown as she sighed. "So one of my precious subordinates blabbed to you, is that right?"

She turned away from him. "Guess it can't be helped…they're always so lenient when it comes to my commands."

"That's a rather lax reaction when it comes to ruling." He had always wondered about this, there were many monsters out there that performed clear acts of insubordination of her will, granted monsters weren't exactly a well-organized group, to begin with.

"It is bound that some of them will either bend or act against my will for their own purposes rarely with complete rebelliousness, that is just nature, I did not come to rule with an iron fist unlike so many of the other ones that have taken the throne, even still my commands are held in higher regard by the majority otherwise there would aggressive attacks to human settlements." That was surprisingly an open insight for Luther into her character he hadn't expected, it sounds like she did take her job seriously despite her current gourmet trip around the world.

"Speaking of my responsibilities, do you intend to tell Luka about this?" She inquired.

Luther shook his head, there was no reason to defy canon for no reason, and given Luka's ideal with how the world worked the man suspected he needed some time to get a little used to the purple-skinned lamia before that. "No, that's his worry to figure it out and with the way, he thinks about the Monster Lord he needs some time to get his world view shaken up, besides you have already hinted at it yourself."

"Indeed I have…" Alice then proceeded to deadpan." Still surprised he hasn't pieced all together yet, he can't be that dull?"

There was an awkward silence that permeated the room afterward. Alice slowly walked towards Chambers causing him to instinctively and expectedly back away, she grabbed one of the two remaining unopened bottles and observed it.

"So this is how you spent your evening…" She looked around for a proper glass before glancing at the rest of the opened bottles. "Drinking straight out the bottle…how barbaric…"

Despite her deadpan remark, she uncorked the wine bottle bringing it to her lips, and took a small sip of the inn's grapy alcohol. "At least you have good taste…"

"Anyway it was nice to deal with all of this, but I have to go." She turned to leave the door.

"Wait, please stop for a moment." Alice complied with the request, being at arm's length away, the monster turned towards the man again. "I think I might know how you lost control, I need to confirm it though, just hear me out."

The lamia froze accordingly and nodded although being slightly puzzled on the fact he needed to confirm something, had he some ability that could do this to her? If so he could prove dangerous, but there was no malicious intent behind the empty orbs that were his eyes.

"Brace yourself, I will try something, if anything happens I'll stop, alright?" Luther requested, which Alice humored, the monster stiffened focusing her attention completely on her consciousness.

Luther Chambers closed his eyes and took a deep breath, remembering the specific pattern of the meditative Sendō breathing, it always started with one deep breath and continued on, he had learned it from forcing it upon himself in a do or die situation and he doubted whether he would able learn it normally or even remember if that wasn't the case. He still had to breathe manually, there was nothing instinctual about it which certainly was frustrating, but didn't need to worry about it, there was only him…

Soon enough a wispy thin aura covered his body as Hamon energy rippled through his blood with it his heartbeat became vigorous, he felt stronger and healthier, even his peak physique in late high school hadn't felt as good, but he hadn't had time to fully explore this feeling of power that the technique brought to him. The man gulped and opened his eyes to look at the Monster Lord who was holding her nose and covering her face, bright red adorned her cheeks much like the last time they met, however unlike last time she hadn't made an advance.

"Alice, are you…alright?" He asked with concern, stopping the breathing technique. It was rather strange for him to do so abruptly…the power didn't completely disappear once he stopped: it carefully fluctuated and slowly faded away into nothingness and left him in a state he was original with a lingering sense of longing for it.

"I'm…fine…" She breathed out seeming all the more flustered as she turned away from him for a bit. "Your scent …and the energy it…became almost intoxicating for that one moment, I swear I could get drunk off it..."

"…So…warm…" She muttered to herself, her voice quiet enough not to reach the ears of Luther, she would damn herself to hell if she ever let anyone hear her like that.

This didn't last long, she released a sigh of relief as she composed herself, any sign of the previous effects on her dissipating, the fact the man was able to even think to do this led to the obvious conclusion that it was simply on his _many_ capabilities. "I assume that was one of your abilities?"

"Yes, although I didn't know it had an effect like this since I rarely used it…" He responded. For Luther this was such an unexpected consequence of Hamon, he couldn't even begin to imagine that such an innocent power used to heal and defeat undead abominations would attract monsters in such a manner, it all meant that he had painted a target on himself in order to simply mend his wounds or enhance himself. It meant he couldn't experience the pleasant rush of power and life without risking simply being assaulted by a passerby monster, it was all too disappointing that it's will be so restrictive…On the other hand, Alice's reaction didn't appear to as extreme as the first exposure, of course, it might have because of her own prepared restrained, but still meant there might have been some hope.

"Then what is its main purpose? Certainly, there was a reason for you to use it all these times. "She probed him, however with much less aggressive intent bordering more on simple inquiring, but she couldn't be blamed, this was something that made her pleasantly drift off into her base instincts making it a very valid reason for her intrusion.

"I did it to heal myself. Surely you remember how badly my legs were damaged?" The man said, while he had no intention of revealing the otherworldly technique to the purple lamia there was no point in not letting some details to it, frankly might serve to satiate a bit of their curiosity…or completely the opposite.

Alice processed the information, with the added context she couldn't blame either herself or him as the shock itself seemed to imply none of that was intentional, his words only confirmed it and the fact that whatever he used was meant to heal the wounds that should've him kept in recovery for a while made her slightly more ashamed.

"Yes, I do…is that all it does…it seems rather odd for a supportive technique to have such a strange effect." She remarked.

"That is pretty much its only capability…as far as it is to my knowledge." _a blatant lie._ "I can't tell you much more about it, I just don't trust you."

The Monster Lord sighed and wordlessly turned to leave towards but before crossing over the door frame she said. "That's… understandable."

"Hey, Alice," Luther called for her attention one last time within this room feeling as though he had to do one last thing before they left the secluded space. He had perceived it right after, her mannerism and body language were unlike the confident Monster Lord with only a few glimpses of her old self scattered here and there along with their conversation, her gaze was softened almost too apologetic and regretful. It was clear to the man that she had genuine regret for what she had done, even though….was it really her fault, after all, she had no control over her actions.

"Hmm..?"

"I forgive you…"

* * *

In all honesty, it was much easier to say forgiveness than to actually feel it, his mouth may have said one thing, but his mind was another. He was torn; no matter how many times he could try rationalizing the events it didn't help…could he actually forgive her? His body was nearly violated by ravenous lust, something that he came to hate a long time ago in his life, whatever trust he had was broken, and he was reduced to a cowering mess. Luther would have completely given in to the anger and fear he felt, but she apologized…and the added piece that put everything into place made everything so messy within his very being. For now, he decided on nothing, the man needed more time to get his thoughts straight.

This was not the only issue he was facing albeit they were less serious ones. As a stand user he was never alone and most importantly it was pleasant company, after all, whoever you can rely on when alone, but yourself? Tusk was a more than worthy stand to keep him company, but there might have been something he wasn't prepared to deal with relative to the stand. Something within told him his newly acquired sixth sense originated from his stand.

"Chu~" Tusk's response only confirmed it as it was floated by its user, it was in a much better mood and partly the reason for the man's relative ease of mind.

"Why then of all the times?" This capability to sense energy was peculiar, the very first time he unconsciously used was when entering the city, he felt Granberia's aura at the city plaza, the very thing that terrified him so much, it because, unlike the soldier, unlike even Luka, he felt all the power and being that was Granberia, the raging whirlwind of flames and ash. In truth, even without this he still would've hesitated albeit less so, but perhaps that was just his bias speaking and perhaps that bias was right…the worst of his actions weren't the wounds he inflicted upon himself, no…it was the possibility that he might have peaked the Heavenly Knight's attention…

This newfound sense however didn't seem to last long. It was damaged as if burned by that ruthless storm he faced. He was able to tell the very nature of the aura, who it belonged to and its true quantity, a lot of good that did him when it was all drowned out by that Dragonkin…but now he could say it's even worse, like having one of his eyes plucked out. Luther still sensed except there was no difference between anyone; it was all just bland, hazy energy. The only differentiating factor was the movement and quantity, but even that could be hidden. Still, he needed all he could get, and possibly it was better this way, having a constantly overloaded sixth sense wasn't a good thing for his psyche.

"Chumimi~in" The spin stand pointed in the direction of Luka's booked room, he was already reaching for the handle but he found himself hesitating for some reason perhaps simply the aftereffect of his near-rape, behind within the room he felt the existence of what he assumed to be Luka and Alice, his two "companions" along this bizarre adventure. Of course, he had felt the presence of the other denizens of the inn, and farther into the city was a faint mist of souls that melded into each other. What sent shivers down his spine was another signature of energy except this one didn't have an exact point of location; instead, it encompassed the entire inn, perhaps even the city with its overbearing presence, there something watching them…and Luther had a guess as to who.

He took a deep breath. Ilias watching them was nothing new to him, but being fully aware of it was something… but perhaps it could prove beneficial for the man, he could tell the exact moment she was spying on them, it was humorous, such a powerful goddess being unable to hide from the prying of a mortal man's attention. Regardless of how he felt about this invading of privacy, it was all the more reason to keep his capabilities hidden.

Opening the door he saw his sixth sense being confirmed in front of his eyes, a half-sleeping Luka turning in his bed and Alice in her true form finishing the last pieces of her meal, while the monster was awake as ever, the boy was lacking much in the matters of lucidity. The room they resided in was no less luxurious than the rest of the inn evident by the bed for a king that the purple-haired was so adamant in lying in.

"Good morning Alice, Luka..." Appearances would have to be kept up if Ilias paid the least bit of attention to him and saw him act strangely that would most likely result in unfortunate consequences, getting the attention of a dragon knight was one thing, but being in the target sights of a potentially genocidal goddess of light was a completely different thing that would end with unpleasantly.

"…" The lamia looked at Luther raising an eyebrow. "I don't think there's any need for a greeting and besides our resident, the fake hero is currently preoccupied with something."

" _Don't say…."_ Luka mumbled as he rolled over to another side of the comfy bed hugging and nearly drooling one of the many pillows causing the purple-skinned monster to slip out a small amused smile from her previous stoic expression.

Luther leaned against the wall glancing at the sleep talking boy he spoke. "I know it's just…we should probably keep quiet about what happened between us, for all he's considered it's just useless information that wouldn't do well for his morale nor for his already shaky relationship with you."

"You care about him, don't you?" The Monster Lord remarked which garnered no response from the man. "But yes, it would be best to do so…"

And then a minute of strained silence passed by in the room with the only awake ones staring at each other carefully while avoiding the other one's gaze as if closely studying for any faint sign of their true emotions. This ended when Alice continued with her question. "You didn't respond to my question…it doesn't matter if you don't want to tell me, you obviously do, otherwise you wouldn't rush in like that back in the plaza.

Luther Chambers remained silent from Alice's observations as he searched for the answer deep within, on the reason for him being so adamant on saving the young hero's life. Did he truly care for the purple-haired boy or was it just a selfish way of keeping things predictable, which in all honesty was very much doubtful the world would remain like this for long, given his small meddling and interactions with the people. Was it because of simple gratitude for an extended hand in the time of need that the boy offered? Or perhaps… _Damn it, Luther! That kid has a good heart, but there is no point in getting attached, it will only bring trouble like it always did…_

"It is merely my gratitude that I did that, _please do not_ - _"_ Before the brown-haired Spin user could finish anything he was interrupted by a loud yawn coming from his heroic "companion" as he rubs his eyes. _Already awake? Guess this interrogation is over thankfully._

"Good morning Luther…you've healed…" The purple-haired boy greeted the first person he saw and then much to his dismay glanced around the room to see the lamia he had gotten rather familiar with after a certain _incident._ "Oh…h hi A-Alice..."

Luka's nervous reaction to the sight of their monstrous "companion" caught the attention of Luther as the man in question shifted his eyes between the young fake hero and the purple lamia. Everything about it pointed to one conclusion. _So_ ** _that_** _still happened, could have sworn she was too ashamed back then…this is too early judge yet._..

"You've finally woken up, I have been chewing this _stick_ for a while now." She smirked as the boy's cheeks reddened. "Is the bed that comfortable or did you feel more _drained_ than usual."

"Pl –please don't say th-that!" The embarrassment was killing him, it was enough that he admittedly willingly defied one of Ilias's commandments and let Alice give him a hand job without much resistance on his part, but the fact that he was being teased by her especially in front of another person and not just any person someone he travels alongside with was killing him.

"Why should I not? We both know you secretly en-"

"Okay! Let's just move away from that topic, _please, and thank you!_ " Luther exclaimed out in an attempt to spare his ears of the horrors of Alice's sentence that tried to curse his ears with corrupted knowledge, at the very least by either of their reactions he could tell that wasn't serious, which was a relief to hear.

"Fine." Alice straightened herself out if only a little, but not before shooting one more remark. "You're just too easy to mess with. You should really work on your composure..."

"Nothing happened." Luka blurted out earning a deadpan hum from his monstrous companion, his body language and huge blush said otherwise to his sudden statement, however.

"Anyway, is something wrong Luther? You don't look so good." This was something out of the serious concern and…an attempt to steer far away from what was just uttered.

For Luther this question resounded in his head, it was most likely even worse than actually hearing that horrid sentence finish, this presented the fact that it was quite obviously an event so awful happened to him. He looked to a mirror turning away from of them and saw the state he was in Disheveled hair, strained eyes, the small nearly noticeable bags under his eyes, and the frown that followed the image, it was all worse for wear, but before he could any self-loathing could take place he felt comforting presence snuggle up in his coat.

"Chu." Tusk reminded that the man wasn't alone, that he would always remain by his side. As the pleasant thoughts creep into his mind from their link he smiles to himself before turning around before them.

A streak of pity and shame crossed Alice's gaze for a moment as the older man's and the lamia's eyes met, the man proceeded to nod slightly to the monster.

"Hmm, uh- I may or may not have stumbled upon some of the inn's wine supply, and uh…underestimated how strong it was, ended up sleeping near a window." He let out a nervous chuckle. The boy processed the information with a neutral expression.

"I should probably go to fix myself up." The room's mood was killed in such a quick manner and it almost felt like it was his fault after all it was his appearance that caused such a thing to happen, right? Or was the blame shared with Alice for putting him in such an appearance that would be the cause for concern? Either way, he felt somewhat of an obligation to change it and he knew how much to the chagrin of Luka.

As Luther headed out of the door into the bathroom he deadpanned. "I'll leave you two to sort your "problem", alright?"

"Wait, no-"All of Luka's protests were muted by the door that was closed behind the man.

* * *

The bathroom break that Luther took served a small respite from the outside world, while Tusk provided confrontation enough sometimes it was good to find a place to recuperate yourself and gather your thoughts. Washing up his less than fortunate appearance proved to be quite therapeutic almost, like wiping the slate clean, but it was far from the truth. He knew there were going to be some problems that will remain whether he likes it or not. The clear discomfort he felt towards Alice was evident and will likely remain for a long time. He might not be able to fully trust her, and then again he didn't trust her to begin with…but his reconciliation and _this_ was a step in the right direction.

As he finally left the bathroom he was greeted with the sight of a fully packed and dressed Luka and Alice, despite his previous comment and atmosphere of the room the tension and stress dissipated, and in its place were a much more relaxed Alice and a non-flustered Luka, they appeared much happier when they saw him finally exit his temporary fortress of solitude.

"Looking better already." Luka was wearing what Luther could call his signature smile, the one so commonly had when proclaiming his ideals or generally feeling optimistic and he had noticed the Monster Lord's upper curvature of lips. It was peculiar, not only did he have to feel the emotional link with his stand, their positivity was piercing through his shell if only a little.

 _Guess looking at the part makes you feel like it._ He thought to himself

"Let's go already. We have been here long enough." Alice went to the entrance of the famous inn first shifting into her human form at a pace that suggested following her.

They finally reached the entrance of the inn where its owner and caretaker resided on most occasions eagerly awaiting visitors, pilgrims, and tourists, despite the sheer cost of staying at her inn she was kind enough to provide healing salves for his wound in case of infection, however, it had little effect in helping him heal.

"It sounded like you had fun last night." It was a shame that she had a lack of tact as she delivered the line with a Cheshire cat-like grin.

"Uhh…what's with today…were we that loud?" The sudden remark was like the cherry on the top for all the teasing he received from Alice.

"I didn't really hear anything." Luther scratched his head, there wasn't much confusion as to why this was this case, being passed out drunk had to play a factor in that. He could only hope he didn't do something drastic or that the owner didn't notice more than a couple of bottles missing.

The owner let out a great laugh. "Hahaha, so I was right? It was just a lucky guess."

"Well how about that…look at you, up and about like nothing happened." The woman observed Luther with slight confusion and wonder.

"Well, I've been told I heal fast." The man half-heartedly responded, catching the unimpressed glance of his monstrous "companion".

"These heroes never cease to amaze me…" She muttered and clapped her hands. "I could only hope the inn was to your liking."

"Yes, definitely!" With the exception of one thing, overall it was an enjoyable experience for the boy: the interior along with the paintings was stunning, the furniture was comfortable, especially the bed.

"I particularly enjoyed Ama-ama Dango" Alice voiced her own thoughts, her own mere mention of it causing a craving for the delicacy.

"Thank you, unfortunately, I can't offer you more, as I've mentioned before Happiness Village no longer produces their special honey, something which is quite important to the recipe, I am sure the rest of the world would be grateful if you all tried doing something about it." She nearly pleaded. Their food was one very few things along with the luxury of the inn that drew people in, without there wasn't much traction.

"Will be sure to look out for that," Alice responded almost soldier-like manner.

"Well…be sure to come again! I'll be glad to welcome you!" The owner of the famous Sutherland inn said her farewells as she led them out of the entrance.

"I will! Thank you!" The heart of the group wholeheartedly thanked the innkeeper for the invitation to visit the inn further.

* * *

The strange group finally stepped into the plaza seeing the amazing difference of atmosphere that the central city of the Ilias continent took on, the dread and oppressiveness which covered the town before forcing its citizen under its whim caused by the sudden draconic invader changed into a bustling place that was worthy of being prized jewel of the continent is but a day. They had caught the eye and heard the gratitude of some of the people that recognized them as the heroes who saved this place from a Heavenly Knight. Blue skies matched the mood the town was in, its markets, shops were now open to any customer willing to spare a coin. It felt rewarding to witness this and be part of what helped make this change.

"We need to stock up on some supplies," Luka announced as he looked around the plaza seeing many options to choose from.

"Do we have to?"

"Do you want to eat when we camp?" The boy's uncharacteristically witful response still sounded innocent enough, but it caused Alice to noticeably slow down for a moment and turn her gaze towards him with a challenging smirk. Her gluttony was a very clear thing for even some on like Luka, it could be easily exploited, however one had to remain aware they were entering a match of wit with the Monster Lord.

"Oh…well you should go do that then…of course I can always get sustenance from an alternative source if there are any complications…" A loud gulp was heard ringing throughout the plaza. Luka may have realized that it was going to be torture sooner, but the implications of that were only just starting to set in. Luka stayed flustered for a moment trying to utter a coherent sentence before, his cheeks flushed.

"I'll just go to the marketplace" The young boy turned from the monster, cheeks still red, and as if solemnly marched away into the city's market admitting his defeat, his heart had experienced enough harassment and teasing for the day any more and might be laying on the ground like yesterday. He left his companions by themselves. Luther shared a look with his stand before staring down at Alice.

"What? I barely said anything that saucy, it's his fault for being so prudish about it." She responded unapologetically at the man's judgmental stare.

"Look all I know is that something happened between you too, most likely last night…" He then paused. "It's just I want to know why? Even after what happened…"

"I don't know if that was just me or your ability, but after our…unpleasant scuffle a strange ravenous hunger took over me and he was just _there,_ nothing that seriously happened _and besides_ I wasn't lying when I said he secretly enjoys this, I can smell it on him." Her explanation took a while to process for the man, he knew of the development of their relationship through the eye of none other than Luka himself it was strange to see it from another perspective and exactly what happened, and the dubiousness of 'he secretly enjoys this' undoubtedly didn't rest well with him along with the fact of how the young hero just walked away. Basic pattern recognition told him the increased hunger was obviously a side effect of Hamon given its apparent capability to entice the instincts of monsters.

"So you're saying he is secretly a masochist?" There wasn't much surprise if it turned out to be true for the man.

"No, that wouldn't be the right way to describe him…" She gazed into the direction of where the purple-haired boy walked off before chuckling. "Come on, we've given him time to compose himself, I'm sure he is waiting for us to follow him.

As it turned out to be much to the surprise of Luther and Alice, Luka was quite proficient in bartering, being capable of consistently lowering the price or making good deals without any negative reaction from the seller, though the rumored image of the town might have also aided in this ordeal. The boy had packed various ingredients for food, tinder, the process proved to ease him back into his regular self.

"First cooking and now this…" Her compliment was not without a jab. "You have certainly taken a strange manner at becoming a hero. If only you constantly trained with your sword then I might be impressed when we first met."

"Oi, oi there's no need to be like that, it's just something you pick up on, I'm sure Luther will understand that." They walked along with one of the many streets, passing along some of the less than useful shops for their journey. It wasn't long before Luka spotted a weapon shop marked by the obvious sign that had two swords clashing along with a name on the bottom that simply stated "weapon shop".

"How original…" Alice sarcastically remarked.

"I should see what's in there because I might need more than _this_." The fake hero gestured towards his simple basic clothing that provided no protection and a custom-built sword that many people mistook for a dagger, sure it did have sentimental value however besides the recommendation from the very person who made it to get a new weapon, there was also the added facts that people mistook it for a dagger and his loss against Granberia. Yes, he admitted there was no possible way for him to defeat her in that scenario even with powerful weapons, after all a 'blade is only powerful as its wielder' a lesson taught to him by Alice and practical experience, but it didn't hurt to have some equipment you're going to travel all the way to the monster lord's castle.

"Good idea, even if there is nothing of note the only thing we would be wasting is just a couple minutes of our time." Another idea bounced around Luther's head, it came and went without him fully grasping it.

"Thinking of finding something better than that dinky dagger? So there was some sensible thought floating in that skull of yours…" Alice teases rousing quite a reaction from the pint-sized hero.

"It's not a dagger! This sword was made especially for me…" Luka lowered his gaze from Alice to the short blade. Truly the very idea that it was a gift from somebody else, the pure sentimental value mattered more than its flaws. It did have many flaws, its length was comfortable for his size, if a bit shorter, the metal wasn't the best and the very detail that it's a lethal weapon was the most that bothered him. He was forced to hold back unless he wanted to live knowing he had willingly killed a person, monster, or not. What kind of hero would he be if he ever allowed that to happen?

They stepped into the shop, its old wooden floor creaked with every step the group took it matched the overall age the building seemed to have with its comparably ancient stone bricks that matched its walls, this shop was older than several parts of the city and perhaps for good reason, in a world filled with danger, it was wise to keep a weapon at hand at all times. And weapons there were…

A Variety of sharp and blunt instruments from the puny daggers and the largest of blades, polearms, war hammers that adorned the walls and shelves of the old shop as well as the armor pieces of varying material on the stands, all seemingly blended together...almost. The quality of gear varied greatly, some weapons were meant for pure efficiency with little to no flair, and they remained untouched gathering dust, while the more eye-catching weapons and armor with ungodly amounts of spikes looked newly made. Once the shopkeeper saw them his stoic expression turned into an enthusiastic smile.

"Ah welcome, please tell me if you find anything you like." The clerk welcomed what he hoped would be his newest customers.

"Will do." Luka responded gazing across the assortment of armors.

Luther wandered over the myriad of different weapons – mourning stars, ball, and chain fails, and throwing knives. He suddenly realized the idea, the man needed a weapon that is less lethal than the nail bullets and while relying on rocks was all well and good, he doubted the integrity of the material, and the amount of power it provided would incapacitate stronger monsters he would no doubt have to fight. He needed a steel ball…the main tool of spin masters.

"Hmm, this armor looks good. A true hero would wear armor like this." The young hero observed a particular piece of armor, which looked grandiose even with its protrusions, however…

"Idiot." The monster sighed as she lightly banged on the thick metal. "If you wore that, you wouldn't be able to move."

Her eyes looked over to what looked to be a plain shirt. She grabbed it and ran her fingers over the reflective fabric, the material it was made of was mostly cloth woven in a way that was similar to chainmail intersecting with pieces of metal, although it seemed to be simple protection one would expect a regular soldier to have, not a knight, Alice knew better. From how much it weighed it provided much more protection than those chunks of shaped metal. "This looks good. We have enough money to buy this, right?"

"This..?" At first glance, Luka was skeptical of the lamia's suggestion but then noticed the quality of the make.

"Ahh, you have good eyes, miss. That shirt was woven in a special way for maximum protection." The shopkeeper walked towards them, noticing the type of equipment they selected. Enriken, a very good choice, time and time again creations from Enrika have proved their effectiveness even with how simple they looked and the basic components used to make them, too bad they produced so little…

"Oh really?"

"It's a good piece of protective wear, even if it looks plain. Recently it seems like heroes have been only caring about looks though." A good part of the shopkeeper hoped they would take it as it wasn't often someone sensible came around his shop and took some of the older and better equipment of his hands, it would be a disgrace to let such things go to waste.

"Those kinds of people don't really care how good this piece really is. It looks like you're different, though!" The old shopkeeper exclaimed.

"I see! Alright, I'll take it!" The purple-haired boy passed the required amount of coins over the clerk.

"Thanks for your business!" The merchant and smith clasped his hand.

"Even though it's a great piece of armor made by Enrika, it hasn't sold well because it just looks plain." The weapon salesman looked over to the heavy plate armor, with a slight frown.

"Enrika? Is that who made this?" Luka's mind dreamed of thoughts of a legendary crafter.

"Ah, not a person. Enrika is the name of a small village to the southwest." The shopkeeper clarified, before continuing. "Even though they isolate themselves from the rest of the world, they make some pretty good pieces of armor."

"Oh? I didn't know that?" The boy mumbled, strangely suspicious over the fact he hadn't heard of the name before, even with its proximity with Ilias Village.

"And you, young man, found anything you're looking for?" He asked Luther who shook his head.

"No, not quite…do you have any steel balls in stock? No spikes, just a smooth perfect surface, large enough to fit in the palm of my hand." Luther inquired much to the surprise of the shopkeeper.

"A steel ball…" Luka muttered confused as to the weapon of choice, it wasn't conventional by any means, the only way to use it would be throwing and you can only do that one time, so what reason would his friend have used such equipment?

"Remember when Luther threw that rock at the slug girl, despite the damage it did it looked very much improvised, it's obvious that's the official weapon of whatever technique he uses." Alice confidently explained which satisfied the boy if only a little.

"That is a rather specific request, I don't have anything like that in stock, but I could make from the spare weapons lying around, wouldn't even have to heat up the forge however it might not come as well as you want to." The shopkeeper admitted. Luther stood there considering the decision with a blank mind, he felt a familiar presence wash over, Tusk, The Spin, something he used to grind down a sharp jagged rock to a silky smooth sphere surely he could do the same to steel even if it required a bit more effort on his part.

"I have ways to make sure that it doesn't happen." This surprised smith who then froze and nodded along opening a door behind the store counter.

"Well then, come on in." He invited the man into the back of the shop where his workshop lied, but not before turning to the group again.

"This might take a while, you're welcome to stay here, but there isn't much here to do either unless you want to look for something more, perhaps a weapon?" He offered a suggestion however the boy in question declined.

"No thank you, there are many things I want to see in this city." Luka and Alice excused themselves from the shop and left the men alone with their business.

* * *

The process of crafting such equipment didn't take as long as much as he had expected much to the amazement of the smith himself seeing Luther simply press down on a detached end of a morning star and ground down to what he desired with nothing but his hands, of course, it was wise to wear gloves for this process unless he wanted to be covered in the remains of steel or burn his hands from the amount sparks flying out the ball. Most of the time was taken up by creating the holsters for said steel weaponry; it was the spot decision once being questioned on where he would store them.

The fact of the matter is that it wasn't very comfortable to have to constantly pull out the balls of the bag one he had to constantly pull a belt on. Overall the service and materials had managed to cost him only two measly coins pieces that he borrowed from Luka.

"There you go! Looks nice enough on you..." The steel ball holsters were patched on to the hips of his pants over the pockets, it was tacky but it served its purpose well. It was made after Gyro's own holsters and soon enough it was obvious that's design wasn't purely esthetic, it's rather loose and open make served to allow direct contact with the balls letting the user prep The Spin beforehand ensuring he was never caught off guard at least in theory.

 _If only they could see me now, makes me feel like a cowboy, shame I had to ruin my pants._ Brown leather didn't go along with the blue denim. Thankfully the ruined part was covered by his coat which also hid them quite well.

"Honestly if this whole hero act doesn't work out for you with that technique of yours you could become quite the craftsmen." Luther could see the genuine smile on the older man's face as he looked upon the smoothness of one of the balls. It was strange how he never questioned him more on its purpose. The smith simply complied with his request.

"I'm no hero, sir." His response made the shopkeeper release a large laugh.

"Then what would you call rushing a heavenly knight of all people to save a fellow, if not heroic?" The older man mused as he handed the steel ball to Chambers. The stand user was left speechless for a short while, were his actions known by the entire town? He had managed to catch glimpses of those staring at him down like he was some sort of legendary figure, the man who stopped such powerful monster attacks head-on. But it didn't matter he wouldn't remain in this town for too long.

"Gratitude."

"Ha! Well, you surely got the gratitude of the rest of the town." The older man let out a loud laugh again. "Well, we're done here, unless you want something else?"

"I'm satisfied with what I got. It was a pleasure doing business with you…"

"As with you! You're more than welcome to come here again if you need anything."

Luther Chambers finally stepped out of the weapon shop satisfied with his purchase, he watched the sky for a moment and judged the amount of time he spent making his new equipment, turns out it wasn't much, the sun had barely moved from its previous position, he heard the familiar pattern of steps to his right.

"Luther, done already?" The voice obviously belonged to the youngest one of the group. The man turned to Alice and Luka although noticing something that there was something a bit off about them, they had appeared more disgruntled than the last time he saw them, their eyes spoke a story of images better left unseen.

"You're lucky…" Alice spoke up. "We had the unfortunate _pleasure_ meeting a _peculiar_ monster."

"Her name was Amira. She is a…upside down lamia." The young hero's voice portrayed a strange level of frustration and disgust, his hand twitched around the pommel of his sword

"I take it wasn't pleasant." Of course, the man knew of Amira, a lamia with a strange genetic mutation which caused her to have a snake top rather than the bottom, a seemingly annoying but nonetheless useful individual for information, he dreaded to think what the monster thought of him and he most likely had no way out of the next plausible encounter.

" **No**." They replied in unison, Luka continued. "At least she told us something, apparently there is a group of monster bandits that attack humans nearby this city."

"There is no point in discussing that experience further." She sighed before asking. "What's our next route?"

The fake hero pulled a map from his bag, as they all looked at it Luther spotted that there were several spots already vaguely marked on the map, most likely signifying the story's side quests. They had the locations, information, goals in mind and now all they needed was the course of action.

* * *

**Luther's notes: Monsters.**

**One of the species living on this planet, the natural predators of Humans, or rather a collection of species that would require separate categorizations, I can excuse the forms of angels being drastically different from one another to them lacking a physical form, however any person with even a minuscule understanding of biology would agree with me that the term Monster is rather loose when comes to describing. Perhaps it simply pertains to their origin.**

**Alice I, the Dark Goddess, Darkness personified in a physical form and the counterpart to Ilias. She is the one who created the Monsters or more accurately mutated the existing life forms already living on the planet, in truth unlike Ilias she handcrafted very few beings most notably the "Six Ancestors" each one being the ancestor of all existing monsters. From the gathered information, I can conclude Dark energy acted like a long term symbiotic parasite infecting its host cells and slowly changing the existing creatures to the Dark Goddess desired form.**

**Monsters vary highly, firstly from a biological standpoint: they spread out throughout the entirety of the taxonomic rank with the obvious exception such as Domain, there no monsters that aren't Eukaryotes. They take the shape of many similar creatures familiar on earth, existing plants, animals, and fungi with unique obviously feminine traits, as well as mythological examples that include goblins, dragons and their subspecies, slimes, and many monsters of the demonic variety.**

**Culturally again Monsters vary highly, but what I can confidently say is that monsters are either highly individualistic, traveling as nomads, adventurers, bandits, and the likes. This is common to those species that are naturally more powerful or rarer than their monstrous peers or to species lacking proper leadership, it is likely unavoidable that they develop a Darwinism-like view on the world that is often proved to be quite hypocritical when defeated by someone stronger especially if said person is a human. The other route that species could take is to be communal often forming small packs or large villages with one another to make up for some inherent weakness or it simply a product of their social nature. Make note that does not mean these types of monsters are weaker, their leadership, numbers, and several individuals that have immerged from that society have often proven to be far more powerful than the previously mentioned monsters, not counting legendary figures of course. What is interesting is their reaction to coexistence was rather predictable, monsters that were used to banding together in communities adapted and accepted to their new life relating to this massive change while the ones that preferred to keep to themselves were stubborn and stuck to their old ways causing some troubles for the Monsters living alongside Humans.**

**Despite my companion's lax interest in this problem, I have made efforts of…quelling them let's just say…if necessary**.

**Regardless of whether which side of the spectrum they fall on species seem to share traditions and aspects of their culture which are wholly detailed within the Monster Lord's library.**

**Despite all of these differences all Monsters more or less share very similar traits most predominantly their hunger for Human semen which their bodies are expertly made to extract through a variety of means I not will go into detail as well as a libido to match this. Obviously one should not forget that Monsters are only capable of producing females baring few exceptions of mutation even then not producing full-blooded monsters, as well as it's to note that despite how equipped they are in the matters of reproduction interestingly enough they're aren't as fertile as Humans, it simply takes more effort to impregnate a Monster than a Human, however, that in all obviousness doesn't faze them at all. With all of these factors: inability to produce males along with the general unwillingness of humans themselves to help in reproduction it is no surprise that the human population dominates the planet.**

**It is also no surprise and somewhat understandable of the actions that Monsters take in regards to reproduction and feeding themselves, it's similar to how Humans kill animals for food. However, it is done on equally conscious beings as well as the sadistic approach they might often take, even killing their prey when it is wholly unnecessary. This, I cannot accept.**

**On the topic of mutation of Monsters, intriguingly enough mutation happens rather fast even in a monster's lifetime and generally a useful thing to them, unlike our species, often resulting in stronger individual or even much rarer result inheritable dominant traits, it is almost like the dark energy itself is encouraging this behavior. Perhaps this could be used in a controlled manner… of course, not all may benefit from it, I know an acquaintance that has suffered a most unlikely an unfortunate fate…**

**During my research of Monster and studies into dark energy, I can conclude that further study may prove beneficial to my own goals and a way to sate my own curiosity. The different life forms inhabiting this world are unique in both personality and physical appearance** , **to an outsider such as I, it is truly an amazing amount of variety.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you had good time reading it, I had intended this chapter 6 however that would've taken up about 20k words which is about 2.5 times my normal word count. Anyway had a fun time writing this, i felt I could've projected Luka's doubts in the earlier chapters better, but i didn't want to make to obvious.
> 
> Poor guy is going to get pelted with steel.
> 
> So far everything is fine...*me ignoring the screams coming from the eldritch blade* everything is fine...


	7. Angle

A soft pleasant choir of birds and insects sounded out through the open meadow outside of the walls of Iliasburg as the very peculiar group of adventures walked out of the gates. The course hadn't been decided yet due to the obviously loud protest of the monstrous companion over the purple-haired boy choice. There were several destinations marked on his map, his particular choice had upset the lamia accompanying him which caused a certain contrast to the peaceful environment to be made manifest.

"You idiot!" Alice's shout sounded more like a banshee shriek of sheer annoyance and frustration, causing a hefty amount of headache to both of the males present along with the evacuation of scared critters. "This is a dragon, vampire, and lamia we are talking about here, are you suicidal, marching off into death like that without a second thought?"

"Chu…" A soft whimper came from the ghostly shape of Tusk huddled within one of Luther's coat pockets, steering and shaking deeper into the clothing's fabric, trying to muffle out the monster's outbursts. _I know buddy, just hold on I'll think of something…_

"I will win or die trying, regardless of what happens, these bandits have been bothering the people and as a hero, I can't let that keep happening." Luka responded with a strange glint of determination lingering which only made her groan.

Luther couldn't let this continue any longer, his nails were spinning hidden underneath his sleeves, not only was he feeling the frustration but his stand, his soul was whimpering in pain making it even worse, the link only amplified his frustration, _he needed to do something, anything otherwise the choice to put one his of his nails in his head would start to seem nice._ He knew of the true identities of the bandits, there was nothing else but kids hiding there yet he couldn't outright say that without earning more suspicion from Alice or Luka, or even the new factor of Ilias' presence he was aware of. If only there was some way to do this discreetly…

He could try to sow doubts into them…

"Haven't you thought about the information you got skeptically? I would imagine that would be the first thing on your mind given the finicky details." This piqued the interest of the arguing duo, they slowed down their march and turned to him Luka had a curious countenance all while Alice looked cynical of his thought.

"Don't tell me you think going there is a good idea?" The lamia grimaced as she stared Chambers down. "Such reckless behaviors I'd expect from Luka, but from you?"

"Hey!" Luka's exclamation was quickly dismissed by the Monster Lord. Overall even if Luther didn't succeed in convincing Alice at least had managed to quell her down to the sweet sound of admittedly relative silence, he could even clearly hear his thoughts again.

" _What I think_ is that it is highly unlikely that these powerful monsters have gathered together in this continent, moreover such great beings resorting to banditry? What are the odds of that? And even if that was the case, wouldn't agree that it would more than just rumors surrounding this issue?" The older man's explanation stuck with them for a moment, it was a worthy thing to consider, the mere possibility was plausible after all, the hand that fed them this information didn't exactly look trustworthy, even lying about the oppression she faced from the humans in Iliasburg.

"Hmm," The purple lamia hummed along to a tune that only she could hear, the notable silence her pondering provided a small reprieve to the nearby animals and her companion.

"Can it be that it's some random bandits that are just pretending to be monsters to look scarier?" The fake hero eagerly offered an idea; it seemed like a very obvious conclusion given the current trail of thought, he heard many folk tales that involved some sort of trickery of this nature even told some to the young children of his home village, those were always fun stories where the hero managed eventually succeed and move on regardless of deceit employed.

"That might be the case." The Monster Lord admitted. "There have been many cases where ordinary humans masqueraded as strong monsters for their own benefit, Monsters as well. Fear, a rather common tactic used by almost everyone. "

"Is that so?" Luka cautiously asked.

"Yes, it's not a very rare happening but for that to continue is another story, however, if there are actually powerful monsters hidden within the mountain ridge…what would happen then? You're still taking a risk." She warned, but her disposition was quieter than the previous shrieking and throwing insults. Luther was satisfied with the newfound mercy given to his ears, sparing him from the harrowing sound that can only be described as a married couple arguing.

"Chumimi~in" As if thanking him Tusk trilled on happily as it floated by, one issue was solved, many more awaited him…

"Then nothing changes, I will still have to fight," Luka concluded, although his steps and movement were a bit lighter now with a good likelihood of not having to face such strong foes established in his mind. "Why do you care so much?"

Alice turned away from Luka, observing the surrounding land covered by lush grass and flowers adorning it, her tone shifted into a more commanding one. "It's simple, you get beaten by a monster and my amusement ends, and there is nothing more about it…"

Luther sarcastically nodded his head along all while a disheartened Luka blankly stared into the road, eventually leading into the mountain, the hideout of the bandits that have been causing so much trouble. Luka had to stop them whoever they were, it was his duty…a duty that reminded him that he shouldn't let his losses bring him down.

"Speaking about defeat, this will surely happen if you keep fighting as you do. I noticed that you really don't want to kill your enemy, so you don't utilize your abilities." It was true, and Alice knew much better than anyone else could, after all, she had trained him, at first she thought that his half swings and subtle hesitation stemmed from inexperience and because of the fact that they sparred, but the more she observed the more she knew, he was holding back what little strength he had.

"Yeah…that may be true…" The boy admitted, killing monsters only contradicted what his dream was supposed to be, somewhere in his mind lingered a thought that she might help him deal with this issue if only to extend her amusement, if it was the case it would be much appreciated.

"Then…I will lend you this sword." Just like her travel guide, a _sword_ manifested as if being pulled out of thin air. Victory bells rang in the fake hero's mind until he saw its horrible appearance…

"Ew…what is that?" Luka and Luther finished in unison as they stared at the unholy sword.

To call this an abomination of an attempt to make a statue a sword would be a disservice to all weapons that existed, exist, and will exist around the entire universe in Luther's mind. It looked even more horrible seeing firsthand. The weapon, if it could be called that, was straight out of a Lovecraft novel with even the dark metallic material used to make _this_ being creepy in its own right. It had many blood-red eyes adorned at its hilt, core, and top of the eldritch sword that seemed to faintly follow their movement, the strange ringed blade on top of them was only the only place that looked to be sharp and the most notable feature of all – the small statues depicting angels that were almost melted into the blade and the unbalanced guard making it more of a blunt instrument than a real sword coupled with an aura which gently brushed against their fight or flight instincts.

A question lingered for Luther _How the hell does it even fit inside its sheath?_

"Chu!" His stand hid behind his shoulders holding on to him for dear life. Chamber's couldn't blame the stand's fear, its appearance and aura wasn't the worst thing about it, no…that would be the sensation Luther felt within the blade, that thing was **alive** …

"Angel Halo…The only sword of its kind in the world, it's very valuable." She proudly announced as she displayed it closer to them who accordingly backed away from the abhorrent statue of a sword.

"It's definitely unique, no person in their right mind would ever think of making such a _thing_ ," Luther remarked. His eyes etched into it, seemingly expecting it to jump the lamia's hands and attack him, his fear was in all its obviousness unfounded despite its bizarre alive state never in its existence did the blade ever attack or act on its own will in the original story, so truth he had nothing to be uneasy about.

"This…ah…" Luka could only agree as he cautiously watched the blade move in his companion's hands, no matter how the boy looked at it the thing only confirmed its existence as nothing but a pure evil object. There was no way he could wield this confidently, without either looking like a villain or expecting the weapon itself to attack him. "This thing…"

"What are you waiting for? Take it; use this sword from now on." Alice cackled, all too willing to enjoy their squirming reactions to such a cursed blade. She had to admit to herself that the sword she was holding wasn't much of a looker, but it could be intimidating and she would be damned if it didn't do its job correctly.

"No way…it's so creepy…" The fake hero protested that her mocking laugh had only unsettled him more.

"But it has those angels you humans love embedded right in the handle…I thought you'd be happy!" She replied in a sickly sweet voice and a teasing smirk on her face sending shivers down the purple-haired boy's spine that were colder than the air around them.

Luther was mute at this point- his grey orbs still jabbed into Angel Halo. He remained unmoving, his stand had yet again hidden in his coat pocket, as a gentle breeze flowed into his face and Alice continued torturing Luka, only wrestling with the morbid curiosity conjured within him, a desire to simply hold it and see how it feels. The man truthfully didn't expect much else than an unpleasant and uncomfortable feeling from it, much like what he was feeling right now.

"Those angels look like they're being tortured…" Luka morbidly remarked, shaking his head and dismissing the mere suggestion that he would be happy with _this_.

"Whatever, just take it." She sighed, it almost looked like the poor boy was about to have a heart attack if she continued any further, so she held the sword in front of Luka.

"Can I hold it for a bit?" The stand user-requested slowly reaching out with his hand toward the pommel, Alice raised an eyebrow at this behavior but obliged anyway.

"Eh?! You w-want to hold it?" Luka exclaimed in surprise.

The older man ignored him, as soon as his hand wrapped around the hilt a soft echoing moan was released from the sword for them to hear, the weapon was surprisingly light in fact it barely felt like he was holding something in spite of its large and disfigured appearance, he lightly swung it around getting a better feel for the thing. He felt Tusk shiver and gave him an alarming feeling that he should let go of it, but kept his grip on the eldritch sword.

"W-wait, did I just hear it moan?! Did you not hear that?" The fake hero worriedly asked Alice and Luther.

"Well, that's to be expected. The sword was refined from 666 melted angels, after all." She casually explained the main reasons why the blade looked so repulsive…truly a terrifying amount of dedication and resources were put into this weapon and thankfully none of that included her own kind's sacrifice.

"I hate how you say that so matter-of-factly" Luka deeply frowned before glancing at Luther who appeared to be completely petrified while holding Angel Halo, a soft glow surrounding his hands.

"Luther…" The fake hero called out to him but got no response from his stone-faced friend…

* * *

Since the very last day, Luther could feel the energy coming off of beings, granted he could only sense the amount of power said being and even that could be given, but with the right amount of intuition, he could tell apart the lingering soul in the midst of a city, a squirrel hiding the trees, his own companion accompanying him. Of course, there was a large difference between all of them, not exactly a feat to be proud of.

He didn't know why he was drawn to it until he actually held it.

Angel Halo was different from them all…he could immediately it tell apart, there was something very unique with its energy signature that even with his burned sixth sense he could differentiate it easily from the rest of the world, precisely because it both lacked and had a signature almost as if it was a gap, a black hole between the energy that tried to eat away and erode anything it touched. That is what unsettled him, that is what he sensed first, but after holding it in his hands, he felt an extremely faint presence lurking behind the veil that was "the gap".

This presence tried to reach out to him, desperately so, and his curiosity carried him to do so as well, reaching out with his own energy, the manifestation of the life force that was Hamon. Admittedly it was a ballsy move to channel it without warning in front of Alice and Tusk's own suggestion seemed to tell him to stay away from the unholy sword.

He should have listened, he should have listened to the alarm bells going off in his mind…but instead, he decided to do the reckless thing and it ended up in an eerily similar place to where he went after interacting with a _particular_ anomaly.

Luther was silently floating in the pitch-black void, as expected his stand still remained by him still resting inside of his long coat, a bright silver flame softly burned in his chest bringing with it an incomparable warmth within his body, a warmth very familiar to the man, in the end, one cannot forget the feeling of their life force heating him and running through their veins. There wasn't much fear to dwell as he stared into the abyss, this time he wasn't unequipped and the silver light that shines from his body eased his soul.

Though even with these reliefs what unsettled him most was that he wasn't alone, there was something with him, he not only felt it but heard moans and shrieks of pain that edged closer to him at an alarming rate, a cold breeze of gust that drew only closer to him, and then he saw it…the golden mist of an unrecognizable constantly shifting shape of appendages: feathered wings, elegant but still wispy arms and legs moving towards as if it was a maelstrom. Chambers tried to escape from it, but it was too fast, it caught up with the man as soon as it spotted him surrounding him within the eye of the golden storm that was its shapeless form. The stand user felt it tug at him from all sides trying to claw its way into him.

He twisted and writhed against the harrowing wind trying to move even an inch away from it, but it proved fruitless, the strange mist's hold on his was unshakable, laying him flat on his back as it swirled around him. The noises from the strange being intruded on his mind.

Luther cried as he heard all it all clearly from the hushed and pained whispers to the blood-curdling screams and howls begging for one thing: for it all to end, to be released from the torment inflicted upon them, he could feel their frustrations, grudges, regrets, anger, and sadness well up inside of him one by one, he couldn't take this for much longer.

"Stop this, please! I can't help you!" He hopelessly pleaded, struggling underneath its grasp.

The mist reached and brushed against the flame and aura coming from his body, in an instance, the whispers of anguish vanished, they remained, and yet he felt no more pain from them, he was left there with them sobbing in blissful silence, silence and warmth they haven't felt in an eternity. Luther felt misty shapes tightly wrap around his energy and body as if almost comforting him, the maelstrom changed into a pleasant stream surging through one point into another. There were hundreds of apologies being said in a moment and even a hundred more begging him to stay all while wrapping him around in their giant embrace.

"Chu." Tusk cooed softly, the presence within Angel Halo reached into Luther's coat and gently pulled it out, floating it around for a bit before placing it on the man's chest, the stand stared curiously at the strange anomaly.

"Thank you…" He whispered out, the stream of foreign thoughts was calmer, it no longer overwhelmed him. It was obvious what this _being_ that surrounded him was, it's only a logical conclusion, considering the circumstances of the sword's birth, was the culmination of the hundreds of angels forced to be forever stuck in the blade, its only purpose existence is to be a weapon, crying out in anguish for what could possibly be an eternity. But that pain was silenced, by none other than a being they saw as inferior in their lives, the irony wasn't lost by most of them…Luther and they remained floating in endless void together, he felt them brush against his body as if straddling him.

Luther!" Chambers heard a familiar boyish voice ring through the back of his mind, a possible anchor to reality? He felt Tusk agree with his assessment, he could leave now. He **had to** leave, there was a world that he had returned to, if he was just standing there with the sword in his hand in reality, who knows how much time has passed in the real world? The man knew he couldn't stay within this strange pocket reality no matter the amount of pity he felt towards this collection of beings, the sheer isolation these beings faced was safe to say, **terrifying.** Speaking from his own experience the two years he had spent alone drinking were torturous enough if they had to experience that for all of the eternity…then it was a fate worse than death, a fate he eased, but he had no choice other than to return. And so he focused and reached for it within his thoughts despite the number of protests he heard and a tighter grip on him.

"I'm sorry." The man regretfully apologized to which their response was a torrent of questions and pleading. "I can't stay here, please forgive me…"

* * *

"Luther!" The voice of Luka called to him as he felt his body forcibly shook, the light-flooded back into his empty grey eyes, and looked to his real surrounding area. He was still in a meadow, a rather sunny sky shined in eyes as a gentle wind kept his presence in the world stable within his mind.

The man was standing where he was previously; he hadn't moved a single inch from his original position, the very first thing that caught his glance was Angel Halo still remaining in his hands, shocked he nearly jumped and dropped the blade on the grassy ground taking several steps back from it. That **thing** was definitely alive. **They** were alive still trapped within the sword appearing fully conscious, damned to forever lurk inside of it hopelessly awaiting freedom, a fate he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. He could end it all, destroy Angel Halo, if he was even able to, and release the trapped souls…

"Hey, watch it! You can't go carelessly throwing around such a weapon like that!" Alice counseled as she picked up the sealing sword from the meadow's grass before curiously observing an almost frightened state. Luther banished the impulsive thoughts that told him to destroy the unholy sword.

This was too emotional for him. He needed to think logically about this, it was necessary if not for the sake of keeping up appearance then for the sake of keeping the only that can defeat angels in their hands and not lost to oblivion. _They will have to bear this existence for a bit longer for the sake of the fate of this world, I truly am sorry…_

"Chu." Tusk sadly expressed as it appeared by Luther's side, he could feel dread and disappointment emanating from it, his own dread and disappointment, but he shook it off. _This has to be done if only for a short while, I can only hope I haven't earned their spite because of this…_

"Is everything alright? What's wrong?" Luther looked to the origin of the noise, the full realization that he was outside of the blade and surrounded by his traveling dawn on him as he looked to Alice's and Luka's concerned and curious expressions.

"I'm f-fine, I'm fine, honestly. I just zoned out for a moment…" He muttered although he doubted whether his quivering tone managed to convince them as their worried look remained, they still remained skeptical by the looks of it.

"Are you sure, you look a bit disturbed?" Luka commented seeing Luther's gaze which held something else than its usual emptiness, he was anxious, but what was the reason? The sword he held caused, that seemed too much of stretch for the boy.

"No, it's fine…maybe I didn't sleep well enough." Chambers forced out a nervous chuckle, maybe it was just him, but he couldn't afford to tell him the very true nature of that abomination of a sword, it was however likely that the fourth presence, Ilias, near them knew from the beginning that sealing sword was a torturous prison for the angels containing in it and hadn't cared at all. His deceitful display had managed to relax them if only a little the suspicion and worry in the air lingered.

"If you say so..." Her gaze stayed on the stand user a bit too long for his liking before turning to the young boy and handing him the eldritch sword. "Now then, use this and you will be able to fight to your fullest."

Luka reluctantly grabbed and cautiously shifted Angel Halo around, it surprisingly handled much lighter than his own iron sword, he was perplexed, to say the least. "I don't understand, how will this make me fight better? What's so special about it besides looking creepy?

"Listen up. Because the angels' grudges are hammered into the sword, it holds their curse. It eats away the magic of whatever it slashes, making it hard for the opponent to maintain their form." Alice calmly explained, earning a confused look from the fake hero, as he stared into the eyes of the sword.

"…don't get it…"

"You idiot." She heaved a sigh and proceeded to take on a condescending tone. "If you beat a monster, they won't be able to hold their form. They won't die, they'll just temporarily be made harmless."

"This blade can? Seal monsters?" Luka gawked at the unholy sword, who would have thought that such sinister looking weapon could end up having such a comparatively benevolent effect when compared to normal equipment around the world, truly it must be one of kind and something that can help achieve his dream without any need for bloodshed, the very thing he so desperately needed and it was handed to him by none other than Alice…

He could be forgiven if felt the least bit doubtful of this gift, why would she just give this to him? This only helps him or is just keep her little "game" playing for as long as possible, was he that entertaining? Was his stumbling about in front of monsters amusing for her?

Luther stiffened as he felt a presence worming its way through the ground slowly getting near them, the man reached for the holsters underneath, his coat touching the cold steel of the balls and channeling The Spin into them. As the metal spheres spun in the loose holster Chamber noted that he had gotten quite exceptional, whether this was his stand's influence or just him getting used to the pacing form of energy remained an unimportant question in his mind, regardless of what it was he was thankful of Tusk's help and company. His sudden preparation didn't go unnoticed by Alice who sensed the alien energy coursing through his hands which were hidden away from them she was confused until…

"Ah… good timing, give it a try." She said to the boy with a smile on her face as the ground began to buckle and shake, she understood why the older man had prepared his strange technique, a monster was about to ambush them, it was a perfect moment to display the power of Angel Halo to the doubtful boy. She admitted that it was quite perceptive of the man to notice the subtle rumbling of the earth before she did, implying he wasn't listening to them all too well dozing off like he always was did, well perhaps that wasn't the right assessment...maybe the man was watching his surroundings, would make sense to her given his background.

"Well, I'll hide now. Make sure to give the sword a try." She suggested before vanishing leaving only Luther and Luka to deal with a small earthquake underneath them as the mysterious monster hidden under the soil tunneled through it.

"Get ready," Luther commanded stepping away from the battle that he presumed would occur, being confident that his traveling partner had what it took to beat the monster currently underground.

"…" The purple-haired regained clarity and exhaled heavily gently dropping the backpack off his shoulders, it was the same song and dance he should probably get used to by now, every time she ran off a monster appeared, and guessing what happened many times before there was most likely no reason he will be able to reason with them, he had to fight, a stray thought wondered how he would screw up this time…

The earth rumbled once, this time a crack appeared in the road just ahead of them, it rapidly grew larger before more of the ground was unearthed spewing out of the quickly forming hole. A short amount of time passed as the enemy monster was revealed popping out of the earthy veil that she hid under. It was a worm girl.

 _Not much of a looker, that one is, probably for the best._ Luther winced, there were monsters that were unappealing to the eye, some downright disgusting in his opinion and now he had a firsthand example, albeit this was rather tame compared to the many horrors that will no doubt curse his eyes. She was mostly a just large worm, her species name described it all, and only part of her that was humanoid was her very most top half up from her naked breasts, which hung from her chest without a smidge of shame, and he dare say pride in actuality, to her autumn haired head. Her case wasn't being aided by the fact she was also covered in slime and dirt.

"Oh? Travelers? Can you let me wring some semen from you?" She asked.

"No way! Ilias forbids that!" The fake hero refused. readjusting his grip on the unholy blade as he hesitantly glanced from it to the monster before him; he wasn't completely ready to take Alice word on its effect yet.

"No thanks, please find someone else who would be willing to do so." Luther's own refusal followed quickly.

"Find someone else?" She scoffed, her composed countenance turning into a wicked grin. "I guess I'll have to force you~"

"I won't let you!" The fake hero declared, running ahead of his swing from the light blade not matching the force of his charge, the worm monster tried to wriggle away with her slim body, but ended being nicked by the blade, no blood came out, the wound had barely even appeared seeming like a spectral version of itself. Luther could feel Angel Halo reach and contact the monster's power, draining it away from her if only a little, a perplexing experience seeing his little companion casually swing around the black hole of energy.

"What the…What is that sword?" She hastily slithered away as she looked in horror at the eldritch weapon and then at her spectral cut. "From my wound…my power is…draining…"

"It works?" Luka moved away from the monster as he observed the damage, a mere glimpse of it served to ease Luka in spite of its appearance he felt the blade slice her flesh. The worm girl shook off her shock, however.

"I'll coil around you and squeeze!" She had exclaimed her intent, rushing to her target, nimbly dancing around the fake hero's guard and coiling the boy with her sticky worm body, Luka groaned as held onto him tightly.

Luther felt a twitch in his left arm he had undone one of the metal buttons holding the rotating steel ball, without his own awareness he had stoically stepped forward toward feeling the soft urging on coming off his stand, but before he could even think to even intervene…

"No need to help, I can do this by myself!" He pleaded for the man to stop in his tracks, he wanted to at least win one fight alone, a fight to which he had already been given a gift to help fight to his fullest, he couldn't squander this opportunity so easily.

"Are you sure about that? This just makes things easier." She laughed as she squeezed the boy, feeling from top to bottom and smothering the purple-haired boy in her bosom. "Do you like my sticky body, I'll squeeze you till your empty~"

The fake hero groaned from the contact of the worm girls "embrace", he was still blessed enough to keep his pants on so it was nothing very serious that would threaten him immediately, but he had to escape both for the sake of winning and for his pride. Luka intensely writhed against her trying to achieve any amount of leeway or at least get one of his hands free. _Come on! I can do this, she can't hold me forever!_

"Ahh!" Mustering all of his strength he surprisingly threw the worm monster off of him down onto the ground where she was forced to slowly slither up from her compromised position. allowing time to pick up Angel Halo this time more confidently.

"~And we were just starting to get to good part~" She complained in a sing-song voice, but that didn't matter as her opponent jumped from balms of his feet, his stance appeared more that of a monster than human, the moment the boy moved he vanished from her sight only to reappear not even a second later directly slashing at her neck and landing behind her. The worm girl groaned as she felt more of her energy being drained away.

 _It's over, she's running dry…_ Luther remarked seeing the energy be voided by the eldritch blade, truly Luka didn't need his help, it had appeared the boy could handle himself quite fine in this… perverted display of a battle, the purple-haired hero was just lacking something that could help him finish the fight faster…as even after The fake hero's major blow with Angel Halo the worm girl still remained in steadfast although appearing to have a flash of regret show through before turning into spite.

"Th-this isn't over." She spoke, her voice filled with much frustration, all Luka could feel now was her slide through the gap between his legs, showing her in his stressed groin area letting her tongue poke around, he moaned but despite the pleasure, he was feeling his grip remained on his new sword. It was time to strike, she had her attack, now it was time for his, and all is fair in love and war…

"Take this!" Luka convinced of the unholy sword's power he braced and plunged the sword right into her chest as she was coming up from his legs, with any normal weapon it would've been a fatal wound, but instead it was the last sealing strike the boy needed. Her body froze as the energy used to move even the slightest vanished.

"What… is this?! Kyaa!" The worm monster screamed out as her body evaporated into the air, seeing her energy, and most of her presence be devoured by the blade was in the least bit unsettling for Chambers, terrifying he was being truthful to himself. The power of Angel displayed in its entirety with Luka and possibly Alice being none the wiser, was this the manifestation of dread and grudges the angels were feeling for all these years, a devouring hunger? In spite of these morbid questions, it relieved him that the unholy sword did appear to be sated, calmed, for now…

"Eh…What happened?" As the fake hero caught his breath, he snapped and looked around worried for the life of the monster he just fought, his worries continued until he saw something small wriggling on the ground.

"An earthworm…"

"Yes, it is…" Luther walked to Luka's side as they watched the confused earthworm.

"Do you get it now? That monster from before turned into that. "She explained letting the smallest of smiles grace her cheeks. "Totally unharmed…just left harmless."

"Hmm… I get it now." Luka grinned taking a closer look at the sealed worm monster, in its current state it had lost all of the threat she posed to any other travelers only able to do damage to the decomposed remains of plants or dead animals, and evidently, she knew it herself, accepting defeat she dug into the ground fleeing from her victorious opponent, it was still disappointing that he had to fight her and reduce to such a state.

"It appears giving that sword to you paid off, you actually won by yourself this time. I'm nearly impressed, if not for the fact that it was just a worm girl." Alice slyly mused as her minuscule smile changed into a smirk.

Luka blinked and exhaled through his nose as he covered his hands, softly muttering to himself, then as quickly as his lament came it vanished leaving only a small trace of it behind the boy's happy countenance. . "Yeah, this sword is amazing, but it's still rather sad..."

"Indeed that thing certainly is something…" Luther remarked almost seeming sarcastic with his comment, even if weren't for the encounter he had with the angelic spirits trapped within the blade he could still call the literal reduction of the monsters into pixel and simple earthworm weird and a bit disturbing.

"Now you're speaking in a different tune I knew once you saw its power you'd be singing its praises… "She glanced at the hole the now earthworm dug, while they remained alive it still was rather disheartening to see her subordinates get reduced to such pathetic beings.

"And besides that, it's better than dying. She's still a monster, so even with that appearance she won't die so easily." Yet even with that, she had complete confidence that the monster will survive, if not the higher power that monster possessed over the regular earthworm then her ability to hide underground will give her time needed to recover if she could recover…

"If she gets her power from others, she'll be able to return to her original form." The purple lamia finished her short explanation.

This was the quickest method, usually, a higher rank monster or even a human with large amounts of magical power could restore the form of the unfortunately sealed, a continuous low stream of power could also work if only taking a bit more time and a lot more effort, though not all monsters were charitable toward someone other than their kind when it came to breaking seals. And then there was the much more likely possibility for the worm girl – the poor man's version - absorbing the lingering energy in the air, although it took a long time, worse depending on the monster's strength it might not even be possible, this…was the power of Angel Halo.

"I see…I hope she reflects on her actions in the meantime" Luka solemnly grabbed his traveling equipment and hosted on his back. To that Alice only shook her head scoffed.

"Rather than reflect, her hatred will probably just increase." The very idea that her naïve companion had was stupid, a person, be it monster or human needed a reason to change, and being beaten by some random boy with a sealing blade isn't enough motivation to just change something about yourself that was essential to your survival, finding a human willing to give semen was as likely as finding a needle in a haystack, especially on this continent…

"…" An awkward silence passed by the peculiar group and a stray thought hit the boy while sheathing Angel Halo and packing up his previous iron sword in his bag.

"What would happen if I used this sword on a human, of course, I don't want to do that," Luka asked, from the direct demonstration of its sealing power he knew that Monsters would most likely turn into animals or any other creature they're similar to, but unlike Monsters, Humans didn't have many similarities regarding traits with animals or plants, he couldn't imagine a human turning into a worm or fly.

"Even if it's a human, it can seal them. They probably turn into a child or a dwarf. Since the sword is made out of angels, it will show its true power when fighting against them, too." Alice casually explained.

Luther shivered as he swore he could sense the blade try to reach out for him the moment the topic of Angel Halo interacting with humans was brought up. T _hey can see outside._..

"Why would I fight an angel?" The purple-haired hero got no response other than a cough from his older companion. "Anyways, thank you for this gift, I feel I can fight fully now, without any worries…"

"Use it well." The Monster Lord said, to which Luka nodded enthusiastically nodded, however, there was a smidge of melancholy hidden in his blue orbs.

"We should probably move on, by the looks of it the sun's going to set soon enough." Chambers suggested walking forward on their path, nearing evening sunlight hit the eyes of the group as the sun was slowly nearing. He did wonder though, time passed a lot faster than he expected, in the game, the side quests could have been completed in two days he reckoned, but just being inside the city and traveling there nearly took an entire day of patience, this world intended on staying realistic…as realistic a magical world where magic and semen drinking species existed…yet in spite of that time still made sense here.

"Eh? It's already evening? How long did we stay there?" The fake hero exclaimed shocked from the passage of time and stilled himself following, the Monster Lord saw an opportunity and seized it.

"I don't know, maybe you should ask yourself, Mr. Sleepy head. In fact, you might as well dream up a journey while you're at it, you'd probably have better luck there." She humorously remarked, her open wry grin was visible in all its glory.

"Hey! You know full well why I was more tired than usual!" Luka furiously shot back, it was enough that he was forced to suffer through the humiliation Alice had put him through and then another thing to face her sarcastic contempt for something that was her fault.

"Hoo…perhaps it's your fault for being so drained from such a simple technique, then please tell me how you can possibly think of getting to the Monster Lord's castle if you're so sensitive, I should do this more often so you would be prepared and I would be fed, a mutual benefit, wouldn't you agree?" Alice teasingly asked.

"Huh?! W-what!? I-"

However next to the conversation between the Fake Hero and the Monster Lord continued Luther muted it out into the background, but a small genuine smile did grace his lips that moment in spite of all that's happened. Truly it was much more pleasant to hear their bickering rather the Lamia's banshee-like screeching, he found it strangely funny even…The man could safely say even with this short period of time that this wasn't uncommon, Alice's teasing and Luka's sputtering and attempts at wit were what gave life to what once was an awkward and silent atmosphere. Though in spite of how early in this journey he could feel the faintest glimmers of a bond forming between the two. Luka was evidently more relaxed with how open he was with some of his emotions and Alice's teasing always had the tiniest hint of concern for the boy and of course one couldn't miss the open worry she displayed when the hero made what would seem like an idiotic decision.

The evening was nearing and it would soon be time to camp, and Luther took it for what it was, an opportunity for him to get stronger, large or small progress every little ounce of potential, so much of it lied buried within Tusk, he could squeeze out of himself mattered in this rather inhospitable place. For all, he cared about returning and for the sake of this world and his own fate, this was the least he could do…

* * *

Time flew quickly during their camp events, the sharpening of skill was ever slowly becoming routine for the two males, a constant flurry of blades and barrage of steel proved to be beneficial for practice if a bit monotone and costly as night time befell them faster than expected. They were forced to rest yet the same as Luther, sleep did not come for the resident fake hero. He was wide awake, his mind too preoccupied with his own thoughts, doubts, and the familiar sound of his older companions steel balls hitting against various objects. So Luther was still training?

Luka doubted whether he could fall asleep again, feeling well-rested with the mix of nightly insomnia and his blasted curiosity he was forced to move, being careful not to wake his monstrous tormentor, the boy had enough of her teasing and he wasn't blind to see that there was an obvious reason for Luther's nighttime training, such reclusiveness implied secrecy, a theme quite prevalent in him, annoyingly so if he were more brutally honest.

The fake hero walked further into the forest just near the mountain ridge, Angel Halo in hand, the colder breeze was less welcoming than usual, strangely enough, the sound of the unique weapons faded more the closer he got until eventually dying down, yet the purple-haired boy still knew where to go from the general direction and a certain indescribable feeling that he was going the right way. Luka finally was graced with the sight of his travel companion training, his curiosity encouraging him to hide away however untrustworthy it might have been.

Luka saw Luther standing in a small clearing, basking in wispy silver light as if meditating. It was definitely a sight as if Chamber's entire presence was extended far beyond his body, he could confidently see that this was some form of energy, though it didn't fail to resemble any type of magic in its passive form.

"Come on, I can do this…" He heard him say seeing him take a battle stance, one fist close to his chest, and the other stretched away from him while his eyes were closed, Luka observed that whatever Luther was using it didn't seem to be anything similar to his so-called "Spin", it was serene…too serene for Luther…

"My heart resonates!" This time Luther's silver energy flared out more aggressively as the man took a deep breath, the boy could have sworn he saw it turn bright gold for a moment. Chambers' hands trembled and it appeared as though he lit his very hands-on fire.

"The heat's enough to burn! The beat of my blood is razor-sharp!" His words were inspiring and uncharacteristically passionate, golden melded together with silver creating a royal torrent of energy as sparks flew around his body, which seemed to be focused on his fist near his chest.

"Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!" Luka gawked at the leap of power he felt, the torrent within his travel mate's hand surged as he raised his arm to strike before…vanishing into nothingness, leaving only coldness with the man. Luka was shocked- all this power and it had just disappeared, had Luther made a mistake?

"Damn it, how will I ever…" Luther silenced himself as he adjusted his posture for a moment before finally turning to Luka's hiding spot. "You can come out now; I know you're in there."

"How did you-" Surprised the fake hero stepped out from behind the tree, he continued to stare there flabbergasted at glowing Luther, who kept on a serious yet more relaxed appearance. It was easy to sense Luka hiding after all the weapon he carried was just a huge target sign for the man if it wasn't for Luka's obvious large energy signature, the only that troubled him was that he was caught and Angel Halo's presence near him.

"Chumimi~in" His trusted stand came to his side to comfort him, he had been using it for a while now, this night, and its sensing capabilities haven't increased nor dulled in the time being.

The relatively frosty wind died down to a more subtle atmosphere that softly rustled the trees' branches and leaves around them

Luka had many questions relating to the circumstances of their meeting, and as much as he wanted to know how Chambers figured out his hiding place there was a topic very important that he would like to know, related to this nighttime escapade. Thinking about it, this conversation may help him ease back to sleep. "Do you do this often? Ah- S-sorry if I'm being blunt"

The man narrowed his gaze and looked around feeling for any trace of their divine stalker, she was yet another being quite easy to sense- it seemed all that power had a drawback. Same as before he started the late practice he noted the lack of Ilias energy anywhere around him even with Luka being added to the situation, but what did that mean for him? Could he be more open with Luka, did he want to be more open with Luka?

"Yes, and I've done it during the first night traveling with you." There was no point in not disclosing this small form of information, especially if without the watchful eye of the goddess of light. "I would prefer if we kept this just between us, this is nothing serious – just me training; besides we don't exactly need another person stalking the nights. Speaking of which, what's keeping you up?"

"Well, I-"Frankly Luka hadn't anticipated being asked that despite how obvious such a pick for a first question might be, or perhaps he didn't want to answer it…regardless of that, his friends answer had saddened him, to sacrifice physical well-being for just bit of strength was concerning like he was preparing for something… it made Luka feel even worse than he already did, like wasn't training enough…before he could answer his friend's inquiry he needed some reassurance.

"Luther, are we friends?" He wanted to know this, no… he _needed_ to know this – his friends thought of their bond even if it's a small one so that he could obtain some small comfort on this night.

The older man was slightly taken aback by this as he hadn't expected anything personal, at least not this soon. This question bore the marks of an emotional revelation and this melancholy that hung around the fake hero added to this, Luther knew he needed to tread carefully here… _Don't get attached._

"Well considering we help each other out in our most trying times, fighting monsters together, I can definitely say we're friends. So you can tell me what worries you, or not…since it's not really my business to pry." Chambers offered a small friendly gesture to Luka.

"It's just I-"Luka sighed, his shoulders slumped down. "I don't know about this anymore, about this journey, and being a hero, can I do it, and am I even worthy of it? These thoughts slowly crept up to me, and I don't think I could take it a moment longer without revealing them, so please hear me out."

The air stilled around them as the melancholy spread throughout the atmosphere from Luka's doubts, Luther was speechless he couldn't have expected such a thing to occur within such a hopeful and idealistic boy even within the span of the entire journey, something was very wrong…nonetheless Luka continued.

"A hero is supposed to save and help those in need, but I've done nothing but be saved by someone else, how am I supposed to be a hero if I am the one in need, the one that needs constant help, am I too weak?" The fake hero's sounded more as though he addressed this question to himself, truly it seemed the boy had the uncanny ability to

"No, you're not…you beat that worm girl without any of my help." Luther softly answered hoping that conversation doesn't devolve into the more self-deprecating territory.

"With a gift, the previous fights: with the slime, slug, that mandragora and Granberia, if weren't for you… it would have been the end for me." Luka pulled the unholy sword of its sheath solemnly gazing into it, the very thing that could have been interpreted as a symbol of the purple-haired boy's own ideology. "And because of that, I don't deserve this, you're much stronger than me, you should be the one to carry such a weapon, not me."

The older man's unflinching cold gaze turned to one of sympathy as he lowered himself to meet Luka's eyes, so he was the one responsible for the boy's doubts…this conversation felt worse by the second, was he strong, stronger than Luka? Ha. It couldn't be any further truth, couldn't be the truth, Luther was weak, all of his power meant nothing if the will behind it was lacking more so after this revelation. To think his presence in this world could have caused this…it was unbelievable…he knew that he would've stayed away from Luka as much as possible, for he didn't deserve this, such doubts should be reserved for bastards like him, not bastions of hope within this dark world.

"Do you truly believe that?" Luther turned his back, he knew what he had to do, some encouragement was necessary.

"Yes, I do…" If his senses weren't too dulled and he wasn't trying to do anything about these feelings of doubt then Luka's sorrowful voice would simply break his heart. The spin master unholstered one of his steel balls holding it out for his friend to see and spinning it.

"Then fight me." Luther quietly requested, in truth, this was the last thing he wanted to do, he wasn't a hard-headed barbarian, but a lesson needed to be taught.

"H-huh? I can't do that! You're my friend!" Luka vehemently refused, shocked that Luther could even consider such a thing, a reaction that Luther himself expected regardless, the man continued.

"Fight me, so I can show you that I am not as strong as you think." Luther Chambers paused gauging his friend's reaction; it was one of strong disbelief, evidently, he needed to be more convincing. "You're much stronger than you think, you're getting stronger, those previous losses can't be blamed solely on you: You didn't have any real preparation when you fought the slime girl, the slug girl was immune to your attacks, the mandragora paralyzed you and well…even with intense training I doubt you'd be able to beat Granberia, thousands have tried…I was barely standing when I stopped one of her attacks, you think I'd have any better luck against her? Regardless even as a young child, you're growing exponentially, more than I am."

"You're just telling me this to make me feel better about myself." Luka dismissing the argument he sadly shook his head looking away from his traveling companion.

"Chumini…" Tusk gloomily cooed, the older man felt its and his companion's despair but pushed through it.

"Need I provide examples? With Alice's help, you had managed to learn and put to practice a monster's technique in a matter of a day something which shouldn't be possible for Humans to achieve, at least not at your pace and you're constantly improving your basic fighting skills to make up for the time you lost learning from flawed sources. The thing that kept you from winning was some gimmick or in Granberia's case overwhelming power. My point is- you can do this, more so than any other person on this continent, you just have to keep believing, it's all just a matter of time for you. "

As Luther spoke nearing almost to a passionate speech, the small stand floated nearby and snuggled up close to the fake hero's neck earning a slight shiver from him as it tried to comfort the boy as much as possible. Quiet forest atmosphere dominated the conversation as they didn't speak to each other instead soaking in silence and thoughts that lingered

…

"I…thank you…" Luka took a moment to absorb all of this. There was a myriad of emotion swelling within him, most prominently happiness. His friend believed in him, the weight on his chest, his doubt was being relieved, the light of hope returned to the boy's orbs, although there was some problem, a frustration that manifested as he listened to poor choice of words.

"Also I am not a child…"

"Really? I haven't asked actually, how old are you even?" There was a slight grin on the older man's face as they stayed away from the touchy topic for a bit, besides he was rather curious as to Luka's exact age.

"18." The fake hero grumbled, he heard this so many times before, and even people in his own village made these types of mistakes. Seriously what was with people misjudging his age, was it his height? Most likely his height…that was never a feature of pride for him, although it did make it easier to sneak into a place, not that he would ever do so…

 _18…_ Chambers had made sure not to gawk lest he utterly ruin this moment between, but to say he was flabbergasted wouldn't be far of the mark, he had expected him to be younger with not only Luka's height a being factor in his false conclusion, but also his very youthful appearance that added to it seemed very strange in the grand scheme of things. People generally had developed at least some prominent masculine or feminine traits, yet Luka was very boyish.

 _There has to be a reason for this, there is no way someone can look that young while being 18 unless it's a genetic condition or a syndrome, yet he appears a fully capable human, stronger even compared to the others in this universe. It could be his unique angelic heritage that is slowing down his aging…_ His eyes were drawn to Luka's keepsake ring. _Or that ring… it's the thing keeping his true powers sealed for all this and the rest of the journey, and only I'm the only one that knows its true purpose here…speaking of which could it be the very thing responsible for his slow physical development? I could see how literally locking up half your very being could lead to very serious consequences such as stunting your growth like this._

His hand instinctively reached for the ring on the fake hero's hand and stopped himself before the boy could notice. _No! I've seen what that light energy could do him- tear apart his body, it's not worth your morbid curiosity, and what about Lucina? You'll ruin everything she tried to do to keep him safe. How the hell did I even consider such a thing?_

"That's still a young age." He sighed pushing out the self-disgust that welled up inside of him, there was still some more he needed to say, something that needed to be done with so he could bear this life a little easier. "You do have something over me already - courage."

"Courage..." Luka repeated the world, trying to pin its very meaning to himself, memories of his escapades turned to static.

"You're a very courageous person Luka, charging at Granberia like that, where others would run. The truth is- am no different, I was afraid of her and I hid like a coward while you were there fighting at her, no better than the ones running away or letting her take over Iliasburg." Luther heaved a sigh as he sat down leaning into a tree in all honesty it was one of his lesser regrets but still hurt nonetheless.

"But I was scared as well and you still saved me." Luka protested his friend's praise as well as his sudden self-deprecation.

"To be brave is to act in spite of fear, and your actions have inspired me to act as well, but I don't think I'll ever match you like that." Luther didn't mention that seeing what was his only friend in this world, who found it in his heart to help him, died at the hands of his inability, would've shattered what little remained of his composure and drive to escape. "It still boggles me, really… you act a bit like a martyr."

"I am not a martyr, I don't want to die." The boy immediately responded raising his arms up in feign defense, his expression slightly scared at the mere thought of it. As much as he denied it Chambers already picked up on a strange sense of determination the boy oozed out during threatening situations and his outsider perspective helped play into this.

"It's alright, deny or not, I am not going to change you or judge, that would be inconsiderate of me considering you helped me. And also because…" The older man eyed at his stand who had found its home on the hero's head laying on top of it, Luka's eyes lit up slightly, he smothered to urge to chuckle at the scene as he remembered the words that his father told him. With a deep breath, he forced out these words.

"My father once told me that a person is like a road. Their personality, identity, their very being is a road that they travel on as they live with many stray paths, often leading to dead-ends and in the end, you may find who you really are…beneath the masks we often wear…or maybe not." Afterward, Luther muttered something incomprehensible while glancing away with a longing painfully nostalgic expression, even returning home wouldn't do him any good in relieving this.

"That is an interesting way of describing life. And everyone has a different road, right? Because it's the only way I can think of that this could apply for everybody." Luka hummed attempting to connect his companion's previous statement about the change, yet before he could even start pondering Luther answered quickly.

"Yes, my road is much different from your road or anyone else for that matter, for me trying to change you would be the same as leading you astray in this analogy, lead you out of your own path and it to mine where will you find nothing but a dead-end, make you into some false imitation instead of what you should be. While it can be encouraged, change must happen on the person's own realization and discretion, though generally, it's good to be the best individual you can be, as cliché as it sounds." He huffed at the last part, granted it was a more simplified version, but it displayed the general idea rather well in his own opinion, however it wasn't easy to be the best you can be and his example would be none other but himself.

"The best I can be...so is my path to be a hero? " Luka nervously asked, despite the overall simple explanation, there were indeed certain complications that bothered the boy, specifically the part of the failure to reach oneself, did it mean he wasn't to be what he wanted, but then he said

"I don't know, you tell me…" It was not his responsibility to see the future, despite his knowledge of the world's story, neither was it to decide someone's fate, he was but a simple man with special tricks, not a seer or some god, but in his words lied encouragement to search for the answer deep within and from the fake hero's soul searching gaze he could tell that it had succeeded.

"Being a hero is the best I can be for this world, with or without Ilias's blessing, in fact, it's been my dream to bring peace between Monsters and Humans. I haven't had the best life." He shortly paused while glancing at his mother's ring. "But… I can't give up, I realize this…I have to make sure no one needlessly suffers, no matter what."

"So that's your answer…" Luther scanned through Luka's behavior, even if the boy didn't admit to it his actions and words oozed the idea of martyrdom, he finally stood up. "Well if you ever decided to become a martyr we will need to make sure you don't have to needlessly go sacrifice yourself, if you're strong enough there wouldn't be any need for one."

"I said am…" Luka paused for a moment before staring at him with a bemused expression. "You're not telling me that you want to train now?"

"Why not? That's what I've been doing before, besides I don't feel that tired.." Despite his assumption, the man yawned casually, stretching his arms.

"Neither am I…" Their prolonged dialogue didn't tire him out as much as he had expected. In fact, it was the opposite, he was even more excited with Luther reaffirming his hope and the prospect of training together with his friend for the first time.

"Will you teach me something new? You told me to build myself up in order to achieve my dreams and while Alice has been a good teacher despite well…her own doubts, I hope that you can help do so as well." Luther stiffened at the sight of Luka's absolutely beaming smile and puppy eyes, it was hard to say no to the boy.

"Maybe, I'll think of something…" The older man mentally slapped himself for blurting that out and the practically jumping reaction he got only served to increase the regret of his poor choice of words the only relief he had was that no one was watching them.

"Yes!" This was the happiest he had ever seen the fake hero, how awful that he must bring that joy down, he wasn't even sure if Luka was capable of learning anything from him, Hamon and The Spin weren't exactly from this world and it most likely entailed the possibility of Luka using them nigh impossible. That was the reason he was keeping it hidden, it would draw even more suspicion right?

 _No…not that's right._ Deep down Chambers knew the real reason, it was the only thing he had over this world, and if somebody else could learn and use it, it led to a bad omen. It was likely that Hamon could exist in this universe. Ghosts, souls, life force, and many other monsters directly pointed to the existence of the spiritual world for living beings and this technique was part of that in general, so the likelihood wasn't as improbable as he thought. Regardless of what he thought he already made the promise, if he wasn't going to fulfill now then later, away from prying eyes.

"Hold on there, no reason to get excited, for now, we'll just improve on what you already have." The older man tried to calm Luka down.

"Oh…" The joy he was feeling was replaced by disappointment.

"Improving what you have is just as good as learning something, might not be as interesting, but it's worthwhile." He doubted whether anything he said could offset this dissatisfaction, but it was worth a try nonetheless.

"You're a noble soul and that reflects in the way you fight, and sadly it's for the worst." However a noble spirit Luka may have had translated poorly within fights, many of the mistakes that Alice and He attributed were intentional

"What do you mean by that?"

"Noble enough to show mercy to your enemies, you hesitate, even if they have intentions to hurt you when you yourself avoid hurting them as much as you can and it impacts your fighting. It's nice but…" Luther walked closer to the boy looming over him, however much he didn't want to try to teach the boy. "Do you think you can keep doing it, with monsters no doubt getting stronger as you move up north?"

"What are you suggesting I do? I can't just kill them." The fake hero looked up to his friend, Tusk still hanging on to his head.

"And you don't have to. You can fight to your fullest with Angel Halo without any consequences." He paused for a moment.

"You have to fight like your life depends on it and chances are that's generally the case, don't stand still and wait till the enemy attacks that will only increase the likelihood of you getting grabbed, which is the most dangerous position you can be when it comes to monsters, instead try to maneuver and corner them. When you have them cornered go on the offensive, give them no chance of recovery." His usually cold tone of voice was terrifying in this context for the fake hero.

"Isn't that bit too ruthless and aggressive?" Luka asked, everything that Luther advised went against the hero's general nature, he couldn't imagine himself mercilessly beating down on his opponent without even the littlest regard of their safety, it didn't seem right…

"You have to realize that you're fighting beings that are often superior in speed and strength, beings that most likely will do worse things to you than you can ever muster up the wickedness to even consider, and you need any advantage you can get. It's a kill or be killed situation, yet you have something that can offset this. Angel Halo, with that you can fight without fear or regret of killing somebody." Chambers couldn't believe the words that spewed out his own mouth, but it was necessary for the sake of this world's fate and his own chance of escape that his companion would be more active when it comes to fighting.

"You want to achieve your dream? Be fierce Luka..." Ferocity wasn't a trait very familiar to the boy, but the older man saw the potential the hero's determination possessed, a potential that could be tempered for Luka's and his own good.

"Whether you decide to take my advice to heart, I have your back regardless."

"I, wow…didn't think you would be that serious about this…have you ever had to fight like that?" Luka asked his traveling companion whose frown deepened.

"Yes…I did, trust me when you travel around as much as I do, it becomes natural." Luther lied as he turned away from the fake hero to look at his spinning nails. The nails that he could turn into bullets or buzz saws, if he could find it in himself to use it against someone, images of their first victim fell to his mind each time he considered it, no matter how vile his enemy he could never imagine cutting them up into ribbons or riddling them with holes.

"Chu…" He heard the tired comforting murmur of his stand; it helped a small bit to ease his disgust.

"Do you regret it?" Knowing his friend had killed was a bit unsettling, but then again his words implied self-defense on his part and Luther didn't seem to be some killer.

"Of course I do, that's not an easy thing to get over however we shouldn't dally about for too long, how about training in something we can both agree on? Dodging and moving…and moreover, I need some target practice." He flashed a wry smile towards his younger companion who could only lament his decision to stay awake.

"Oh no…"

* * *

**Luther's notes: Humans**

**Humans...there is not really much I can say about them, compared to Monsters, Angels, and other oddities in this world such as magic they are pretty mundane in comparison. As far as I've researched their mental faculties appear to be similar to our own, yet the issue stems from their physical capabilities. Their origin is unquestionable and appears to follow my world's religious belief of divinely guided evolution in this case instead of it being Yahweh or any other deity it's Ilias because she was incapable of mutating the existing life forms to her liking she was forced to use the much slower method of manipulating the soul to achieve what she wanted. This interference of the natural process may have caused unforeseen or in her case intended consequences of making them on average weaker than their equivalent on earth, the only ones being an exception to this rule are heroes, those that possess a monstrous or angelic bloodline.**

**With further studies, I have confirmed my suspicions that the Human genome has been tampered with even further by none other than Alice the I with small traces of dark energy still lingering within parts of their DNA. Specifically, regarding nervous system response to pleasure…Critical Ecstasy, truth is it exists within every conscious living being Monster, Angel, except it, is not as severe as Human's reaction to, a weakness that boggled my mind, there was no chance of it being natural with how adaptation works, in fact with how often Humans are prey it's supposed to be quite opposite. And my assumption was correct, this weakness wasn't natural within humanity, it was engineered.**

**It turns my existence here is even more alien than I first expected…**

**However, if I'm feeling a bit malicious regarding the gods of this world, monsters, and angels, I have a choice to stop this from continuing. With my knowledge of genetic manipulation and the much more superior tools, I have at my disposal I can surgically remove this little quirk from them without any of them noticing, which I do admit is absolutely disturbing, but nonetheless…**

**It would be a fun side project…**


	8. Segment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The eight chapter is finished! Honestly had bit of blast while writing it, I hope you can enjoy it as much as I do since this more of the more happier ones (not that the story won't have a lot of them, it's just not very present in the Ilias continent arc).

"Uhh…" Luka groaned as he marched along with his companions towards their destination, it wasn't the exhaustion from the slight lack of sleep that was the cause of his suffering although it did have a role in it, the more important part was the training he was subjected to, if one were to ever gaze underneath his clothing they would find some bruising.

Luther was only slightly merciful as to not use his powers when throwing his metal balls. If it were otherwise Luka's journey would've been long over. In a way the boy regretted ever speaking to the man about his anxieties, it would have saved him a lot of trouble and pain.

"Are you alright? You seem tired…" Alice asked, her tone of voice indicated that she was more suspicious than worried, though because of the boy's nature there was a hint of concern, it was hard to hate or dislike him even for her.

Before answering his monstrous companion Luka met the cold grey eyes of Luther, whose body and face language told him to follow up on their agreement.

* * *

Luka ran, zig-zagging in between the trees with Luther right behind him armed with his infamous steel balls, the bite of which the boy had come to loathe. While he learned quickly it took his instincts a full minute to get used to the fact that this wasn't a test of endurance, but his agility. It wasn't as simple for the fake hero to focus on dodging Luther's attacks at least in this case, he could do it only when his companion was throwing one projectile, but not when he was throwing two, especially once some of them started to bounce back into his hand.

He needed to be better than agile: he needed to dash, use obstacles to his advantages and feint his movements, all to finally goad out his training partner's attack and be finished with this session. That's when he heard Chambers come close enough for his plan to work, all he needed to do was get close enough with Angel Halo and he would win. At the corner of his vision, he spotted that Luther was about to throw a steel ball, with a burst of speed he sprinted, the ball barely nicking his heel.

There was a second steel ball going toward him after the first one, if this one didn't bounce back then his friend would be left defenseless. As predicted the second steel ball came to him aiming for his head. Luka hid behind a tree, the steel projectile scratching the bark and flying further away. Afterward, Luka spun around his cover, Angel Halo in hand, to face his training partner who was left without any visible weapon. The boy swung a downward into Luther, but before the unholy blade could touch the man he stopped.

Luther shuddered from the proximity to the blade, seeming afraid of it which confused Luka for a bit, but he ultimately assumed it was from surprise or shock. The hero moved the blade away from his friend leaving a little breathing room between them. Regardless of Luther's apparent surprise Luka could see smudged of pride and approval within the man's bleak eyes.

"You managed to make your opponent lose their defense and struck at the opportune moment all while managing to avoid their attacks, you did well…" The fake hero's heart fluttered at the praise, it also might have been the physical stress that played a part as well.

"Remember most monsters have some advantage over you either by being faster, stronger... having more arms or legs or simply being able to use magic. You have to fight smarter not harder, try to corner them as you did with me and when you do, don't relent, not even for a moment, of course, all in moderation, you don't want to disregard defense." His words while they sounded cruel to even commit to the boy were ultimately necessary, if his friend wasn't holding back he would be dead if he fought like he regularly did and he doubted the enemies he would face would give him the same mercy.

"Thank you…" He huffed out, maybe it was more taxing than he imagined, playing such a long drawn out cat and mouse game. He groaned from the pain before chuckling to himself. "I'll definitely remember this."

"Great, if you want to train again don't hesitate to tell me." Luther went to pick up his steel balls popping them back into the holsters. He glanced at the boy who looked like he wanted to say something.

"Alice…" Luka reminded me. "Are we going to say anything to her about training?"

"If you want to, be my guest." Chambers knew the boy specifically hadn't mentioned anything about his anxieties in the question, and why would he? It was likely Alice in this current state of their relationship would mock him and bring him down even further. "Would you have her be awake during the night as well?"

"Ah… no, maybe I shouldn't say anything, I know it's bad to lie, but she is…a little too much for me to handle for more than a day." The fake hero confessed, although there was another reason. He valued the separate time he had spent with Luther even if it was a little painful, and there would be no doubt that the man before him would retreat into silence if there was someone else around them as he always seemed to do.

"Then we won't mention this, lie if we have to..."

* * *

"Oh, it's nothing I just woke in the middle of the night and had a hard time falling asleep again," Luka answered as best he could, he had shamefully confessed it was one of his better lies, but at least it served a steady nod from Luther, yet there was something disturbing about Alice's amused countenance.

"Could it be that you're excited or nervous? There must have been too much energy in you, you can also ask me to help you with that." Yet again the lamia proved too able to break his composure with mere words. Luka could feel his soul die a little as he was reminded of her previous antics and at this rate, he might as well reach the monster lord's castle as a soulless husk driven by determination and embarrassment.

"Uuu… why do you have to say such things?" Luka bewailed, the boy wasn't the only one suffering. He could see a certain degree of disappointment in his friend's stone-cold expression. Luther wasn't as detached as he first thought, there were emotions hidden underneath that permanent cold glare, something which the fake hero managed to pick up on a bit during his training.

"And why do you insist on coexistence? That's just how we are, that and it's easy to make you squirm for me." She smiled, it looked sickeningly sweet to the one beholding it, the very fact that she could tease the innocent boy without much effort on her part brought great pleasure

"Do you just bother him because it's easy or is there something else behind your actions?" Surprisingly this time it was Luther who spoke, it was hard for the man to believe that the monster had managed to get some infatuation with the boy this early on to enjoy simply teasing him, at best he could say that Alice found Luka endearing, yet naïve.

"How else am I supposed to entertain myself when he is not fumbling around with monsters?" She huffed, but her exasperated expression vanished as soon as it appeared. They were nearing the mountain range and with that the location of the supposed bandits who were harassing the humans nearby, the famed dragon, vampire, and lamia…

"How much are you willing to bet that there are a dragon, lamia, and vampire, what are you going to do if that's the case?" Alice directed a question at both of them. Luther didn't answer, but he ultimately knew who the bandits were, nothing but children playing pretend, of course, he didn't fault Alice and Luka for not knowing it, after all, they didn't possess any outside knowledge.

"I'll still fight." This was Luka's answer, it seemed all more confident or rather determined than the last time he answered.

"Tch, so persistent… you don't gain anything from this and here you are risking your life." Alice crossed her arms annoyed by the sheer stupid selflessness that the boy displayed. It didn't make any sense for her that any living being would possess such utter disregard for their wellbeing.

"It's my duty, If I can't even protect people, then how will I achieve my dream?" The fake hero replied he was sure it was enough to convince the purple lamia, but despite his assurance, she only wickedly smirked.

"You won't." The Monster Lord sardonically remarked.

"I'm sure it isn't anything serious…if it comforts you, Alice, know that I will not let Luka lose" Chambers chimed in, although his light attempt at humor seemed lackluster due to the one-note tone of voice he delivered it in.

"You are either confident in your assumption to be correct or you assume to be strong enough to fight these monsters." Either way, it implied sureness to the point of arrogance for the human, first was to think that you're completely correct, second was to think that a mere traveler would be able to take on three high-level monsters without as much as a second thought, it shouldn't be possible even with his abilities after all he had barely managed to stop Granberia's basic attack, even rupturing his leg muscles in the process.

"Yes." He had no reason to worry and to his words, Alice had no response other than disbelief.

They continued to travel eventually reaching close to their supposed destination, the green and lush plant life turning to more golden and brown color sand and mud with the barren mountain and hill covered ridge joining the scenery. As Luka strode along the base of the mountains a realization slowly dawned on him when looking around.

"Crap…we don't know where their hideout is and Amira didn't exactly specify the location." The boy sheepishly scratched his head.

"This huge mountain range will take forever to search, Are you still going to do it?" The Monster Lord doubtingly inquired, she would be both baffled and annoyed if he did take his time to actually commit to such a course of action and if that were the case she would give up, flat out tell them where the monsters are and let them march off to certain death…it would be much more entertaining to watch.

"Ergh…what should I do…" Not that Luka wanted to search for a long time anyway. Certainly, he was also opposed to the idea of wandering around aimlessly, it was purely a matter of duty that drew towards that decision, but it didn't necessarily mean he wasn't going to complain about it.

"It's not going to be as hard to find them as you think. They're more likely to come to us because they are bandits and that means they're looking for loot, it'll be even faster if they're monsters since they can smell us." Luther closed out his focus on the other senses, he didn't mention that he felt an actual large presence besides the muddled energy of the wildlife lingering around their vicinity and there was a good possibility that was one of their marks. All the man had to do was subtly lead them on to its location and the rest would flow smoothly.

"Let me get this straight: you're going in, willingly walking into an ambush with the possibility to be caught by surprise by one of the strongest monsters that this continent has to offer? '' Alice blinked, calmy breathing while counting to ten. One of the few things she could conclude about the group was their tendency to make suicidal decision after suicidal decision…she seriously thought that if it weren't for her they should already be dead after the whole fiasco with Granberia in Iliasburg, although their determination and grit certainly did impress her if only minuscule amount.

"What other choice do we have? We don't know where they are, so it's going to be the same regardless. The very least we can do is be prepared. " Chambers understood her skepticism, even though he would state the same thing at first glance, that it didn't seem all too wise. There might have been a better course of action, but they didn't have the time, nor patience to pull it off. Yet none of this really mattered as the monsters that were there he could confidently say don't pose a threat whatsoever to him or Luka for that matter.

"I think Luther's right, it would be better to expect an ambush and we don't have much to go off to surprise them ourselves." The fake hero cautiously glanced around as his hand nervously wrapped around the hilt of Angel Halo readying it to be pulled out at moment's notice.

"Besides…" The older man un-holstered his weapon, spinning it in front of them. He had caught the eyes of Luka and winked. "We'll be ready."

Luther's words however didn't convince the purple lamia, her belief of the plan's stupidity was strong, and could she blame him for being stupidly suicidal? Maybe…it would only be right for her to consider that the human didn't possess her senses and therefore couldn't determine the actual threat he was in…or did he know something she didn't? Was there some knowledge that he had? That wasn't possible…no, perhaps just fluke.

Alice shook her as she watched the man casually tread with Luka in tow going in further into the mountains, she followed them with the impression that her amusement will end once they face at least one of them…at the end, it didn't take long for the group to encounter someone small who suddenly jumped in front, Luka and Luther. Someone who Alice hadn't expected, but finally smelled regardless she vanished leaving them to deal with this 'threat'.

"Ya! You two give me your money!" This monster would've been threatening if it wasn't for her high-pitched voice and her cute if a bit ridiculous appearance.

The monster was a small goblin girl that looked to be a brown-haired child, matching Luka in terms of height, with tanned skin, a horn on her forehead along with red markings on her face which contrasted with her bright blue eyes, on top of her head was a broe helmet. She wielded a hammer that was at least twice her minuscule size.

"So…you're one of the bandits?" Luka was a bit flabbergasted while Luther appeared to be more or less amused.

The boy was expecting a more intimidating opponent as per Alice's own concern. He was less worried than he was before even having the composure to confirm if Alice had disappeared or not. One of Luka's conclusions as to why he was fighting someone so comparatively weak was that this goblin was a possible minion, a confirmation was required.

"Indeed! I'm the Goblin Bandit of the Four Bandits" The goblin monster didn't seem to be bothered by the purple-haired boy's confused and slightly disappointed reaction or that she was outnumbered two to one. She stood proudly in spite of that with her war hammer beside her, it was surprising she could even use let alone lift it with her non-muscular look.

"Eh…? The four bandits?" Luka observed vigilantly in the light of the fact that this monster was part of the bandits that have been harassing the surrounding inhabitants and not just some simple minion, his hand shuffled around his sword hilt once more while his companion didn't show any amount of anxiety that he himself had.

"If you get it, then give me all your money!" The Goblin Girl repeated her demand as if her title magically changed her non-intimidating presence; she was still adorable in face of her own threats.

"Well, I trust you can handle yourself." Luther lazily stepped back away from issuing conflict, cold yet curious eyes still on them.

The man's knowledge told him that this monster won't be any problem for his young friend to handle especially after practically beating dodging lessons into the boy, an act he feels slightly guilty for performing as he was sure there were some bruises left over which could cause problems depending on if Luka got hit or not.

"Oh, so you're running away and leaving your friend behind. That's fine with me- run you coward!" The older man's actions only served to increase the monster's bravado of confidence.

"No, not running away…" The man plainly answered, his bored expression and tone had caused some of that goblin's self-assurance to vanish.

"No he isn't, he just believes in me." The fake hero smiled. "I'm Luka, a hero and we have come to stop you bandits."

"Eeeehhhhh? You believe in someone like him? "She tactlessly pointed up and down to Luka's scrawny form. "Someone as weak looking as you?"

"Sh..Shut up!" The boy childishly retorted pointing back at her intent on showing the hypocrisy of her observation in his own unique way. "You look weak too!"

Luka huffing from her insult and finally ascertaining the threat he drew out Angel Halo of its sheath. Lowering his body into a stance so that the half-ring tip of the cursed blade was pointing at the monster's neck he was ready to strike, the presence of his sword had earned a reaction from the monster beside his own uncomfortableness and Luther's flinch.

"That sword! It looks so gross!" The Goblin Bandit exclaimed as she saw the melted black statue of a sword mentally swearing that she saw one of the eyes move around, occasionally glancing toward the hero's companion.

Luka relaxed a bit, lightly shifting his attention to Angel Halo seeming to agree with his opponent.

"Hmm..." The monster frowned, her eyes shifted between the unholy sword, its user, and the user's friend considering her options as she muttered. "What should I do? The sword looks so gross, but I want to play with a wielder, but…

"Alright bring it, Hero! This Goblin of the Earth of The Four Bandits shall be your opponent!" She announced shifting the weight of her massive hammer around.

"Adding 'of earth' this time?!" The fake hero remarked, assuming that Goblin implied that she was capable of using earth magic, he readied himself to dodge any incoming attack, but was surprised and confused to see her pick up some of the sand of the ground.

"Eat this! Sand Hurricane!" She throws a handful of sand at Luka who managed to shield his eyes and mouth blocking most of it, in spite of its grandiose name her 'attack' didn't do any damage only managing to dirty his clothes and severely disappoint her opponent.

"What the…is this just sand?" Luka exclaimed, wiping his eyes and spitting some of the sand that got in his mouth - his opponent falsely saw this as an opening.

"Ah, an opening! Feel the wrath of the earth!" The Goblin Girl raised her weapon to the sky preparing to unleash her strength she slowly approached the purple-haired boy. "Earth Crashing Goblin!"

The fake hero wiping away the last of the sand stared as the monster ever so sluggishly marched towards him appearing to struggle with the weight of her weapon, inch by inch she shuffled forward to Luka who perplexed checked whether the ridiculous scene before him was real that someone considered using an attack with such long set up a time after doing something pathetic like throwing sand at him.

The Goblin Girl got close enough to try to slam the heavy hammer, but her opponent merely stepped back before the hammer could even touch him. The weapon without a proper target slammed into the earth causing it to crack under its force.

"Such a slow attack will never defeat me…looks like Earth Crashing Goblin was defeated!" Luka childishly beamed, it was rather obvious from his adversary's display that he had nothing to fear from her, the only threatening thing from her was getting hit by a slow-moving hammer which it did happen would be no one else's fault but his.

"I won't lose to you! Ya!" Picking up her hammer again she swung around repeatedly at a much faster speed leaving both Luka and Luther to watch as her hammer threw her around repeatedly.

 _Enjoy this while it lasts Luka…this is probably the best relief we are ever going to get in this world, it's starting to go all downhill from there._ The older man chuckled at the goblin's ridiculous actions only lamenting that it's going to be more difficult to handle once he leaves this continent.

The Goblin continued to attack without direction until suddenly one of her feet had managed to trip on a rock making her tumble down with her war hammer, stopping any manner of future violence.

Luther winced from the sudden fall, he felt Tusk materialize beside him preferring to sit on the man's shoulder.

"Chu..." The older man could feel his stand's worry for the child's; it wanted to fly toward the poor thing.

 _She'll be fine…_ Chambers comforted his stand, he knew that the pain the monster felt was fleeting and soon she will be running away mocking them.

"Are you done?" Luka asked the monster lying on the ground, there was a tinge of sympathy within the boy for how she wasted all that uncontrolled effort and failed to get a single scratch on him, it was obvious that she was untrained or smart enough to use something lighter, her blind swinging in attempts to hit had reminded him a bit too much of his hopeless fight against Granberia.

"Ye…Yeah" She slowly stood up, losing any sign of confidence, her hammer leaning against her small frame, there was a small bruise on her forearm which she was gripping, her sniffle turned into a full weep. "Waaaaaah!"

"Where is your hideout?" Luka asked with a small degree of shame, the last shreds of an idea of a menacing bandit vanished with her breaking down in front of him, it almost felt like he was solely responsible for her pain.

"Over there…there is a cave over there." The monster crying pointed at a large entrance cave further into the mountain range, she was getting to a point where she could dash away easily even with the massive weight of her weapon weighing her down and her despair turned into laughter.

"A lamia, a vampire, and even a dragon! Haha, there's no way you can win!" Turning a complete 180 laughing she ran away while yelling juvenile obscenities at the young boy, losing any amount of pity that her pain gained.

As the goblin girl disappeared, Alice returned not really knowing what to make of the childish display and fight that occurred other than being slightly baffled, but her composure hadn't faded away.

"Looks like you found out where their hideout is." Alice didn't want to think of the possibility of Luther being correct- something wasn't right, it wasn't a matter of being humiliated, she doubted whether the man was the type of person to do so. It was a matter of her own pride in her senses as a monster to be outdone by a human in terms of intuition. It was ultimately shameful, but she still had a chance, even the bandit herself spoke of the ones that smelled.

"Yeah…" Luka paused, his face betraying that he looked hesitant in speaking his mind. "I know…maybe this is wrong for me to say this and I should be thankful for an easy fight, but I'm still disappointed."

"Ho…you're not the only one here." The Monster Lord admitted while it was a little bit amusing to seeing the Goblin flail around it was nonetheless only that, an amusement that was overshadowed embarrassment and dissatisfaction, she had expected that the monster would at least be able to put up a fight before being inevitably defeated instead it was a pathetic struggle that ended with the girl not even doing so much as touching Luka.

"Lamia…dragon and vampire…so those monsters are there." The fake hero gazed into the bandit's hideout entrance.

"So I was right, you should really give up, do you really want to die that badly?" It wasn't an official bout between her and Luther, but Alice had to admit that she did feel a bit more excitement competing with the man, a diversion to entertain herself, even she did have a handicap in the form of her advanced senses it was very worrying to see that Goblin girl as it almost practically spelled disaster for her side of their little bet, but in the end, it proved to be just confirmation.

"Just I said before: I don't want to die. The people in Iliasburg are in danger, they need my help!" Luka stayed defiant against his monstrous companion's doubt. Was his heroic nature really that much of a bother to?

"What an idiot…risking your life for others…" Alice shook her head in disagreement.

"Come on, let's go already," Luther called out to them, already marching off in the direction that the Goblin Girl pointed at.

"Hey wait up!" Luka yelled for his friend who slowed down in his advance.

"That eager to die, by my guest…" The Monster Lord exhaled.

* * *

The adventurous group gazed further into a shady cave far into the mountain. It was musky and comparatively damp to the outside sandy and dry environment, all the more the plant life had decided to take shelter from the hotter rocky fields alongside the monster bandits that called it their sanctuary. Luther could see as to why it was their choice, it was relatively hidden away, and if it wasn't for his senses or that they were directly informed of its location he likely wouldn't be able to find them without any thorough searches.

"So that's how it is..." Alice sniffing the air mysteriously remarked much to the confusion of the fake hero.

"What do you mean 'so that's how it is'?" Luka inquired, curious as to his companion's strange muttering.

"It's nothing, I'll be waiting here. Just finish up and come back." With the increasing proximity, her scent became more accurate, stronger. Its clearness was likely hidden by the moistness of their supposed home. In a way she was correct, there were a lamia, dragon, and vampire hid, but they possessed no real danger, they were just a bunch of children that needed to be taught a lesson for wasting her time

"Oi, oi what are you saying, I thought-"Luka nearly shouted before he felt Luther grip his shoulder, it was a bit ridiculous for the boy to hear Alice change her tone so quickly a bit suspiciously might he add.

"Calm down, we'll be fine." The older man spoke standing over the fake hero like a weary guardian; his presence had managed to ease the boy a bit.

"Chu." Tusk also tried to reassure the boy but its user doubted whether Luka could have heard it and if he did it likely it ended with him being wholly confused on the stand's seemingly incoherent noises.

Luka and Luther stepped further into the vast dank place breathing in its wet atmosphere, they heard several droplets. Perhaps it was creepy surroundings or perhaps the knowledge that someone was hiding and no doubt waiting for them added that strange eeriness.

"Sorry for not following your advice…you spent a long time trying teaching me." Luka felt like he needed to apologize but just out of earshot of the bothersome lamia unless he wanted more trouble, however small he kept his voice down it still echoed throughout the hollow area.

"Hmm, I don't blame you for not fighting seriously, she was just a child and not even that capable, nearly knocked herself out with that hammer...can't exactly expect someone like you to beat up children, monster or not," Luther murmured. The boy beside him could hear a slight chuckle.

"What about the others, could they be…" The fake hero was interrupted by higher-pitched cackling.

"Chu…" Something was there and the stand was directly looking at the rock she was hiding behind. The sound of slithering on rocks was heard by them, soon enough a small lamia appeared from the shadows.

"Lamia Bandit of the Water of the Four Bandits has arrived!" The new monster loudly announced, her long tongue haughtily waving around, yet in spite of her title and loudness, she was very tiny compared to the likes of Alice. The small lamia's appearance altogether wasn't as intimidating or unique as the Monster Lord's: her hair color, as well as stature, was similar, she was wearing barely any clothes, only a few straps of cloth on her flat chest and large piece covering part of her lover's half.

"So you're…a lamia?" The purple-haired boy was the first one to break the silence as he asked as looked up down at her monstrous form unsure of the sight before him.

"Fufu…do you want me to coil around you?" Luther Chambers, Luka, and Tusk uncomfortably stared in silence for a moment and any of them could swear that somebody within the cave awkwardly coughed. It was enough that her attempt at seeming haughty and seductive was bad at best, but to hear come from a child was uncomfortable to say the least.

"Eh? What's with that disappointment?" The lamia pouted indignantly crossing her arms and pumping up her lackluster chest, she appeared to be on the verge of attacking.

"How can you have that face when facing me?" Frustrated, the tiny Lamia charged at the group full speed intent wrapping around on at least one of them.

"Always be alert!" However, Luka snapped awake, reciting an important lesson he learned from training as if it was life or death. He immediately grabbed Angel Halo and as the monster got close enough he smashed it like a blunt weapon into her side making her fly and crash into a nearby cave interior.

 _Holy shit…_ Chambers and his stand watched in horror as the small monster hit the ground from the impact, there was a brief time he was even more worried when he saw no movement, but the man eventually heard crying as he saw her get up, her face showing pain as the monster gripped her head. The lamia's previous confident monster's presence had vanished and in its place was a scared, hurt little girl that was shaking in front of her oppressors.

"Chu…" This was probably the most somber tone the Stand User heard his stand ever speak. It tried moving to the injured girl but was seemingly stopped by an invisible barrier, its limited range that it could go from its user, such disconcerting weakness…yet it noticed that it could move just a bit further little a by little then Tusk knew why – Luther was walking, his pace was slow and he gestured Luka to back away for the moment.

 _Alright, I was wrong, unlike its game counterpart there is nothing remotely funny or relieving about this situation, it's just an inn-…well is she really that innocent considering how willing she is to perform such a deplorable act? How can I pity such a being?_ The man glared at her for a bit, but ultimately his gaze softened at the sight of her looking up at him in fear…this was not wanted, to be viewed this way brought feelings of self-disgust within him, she no doubt saw him in the same light he once did the roper.

 _But…is that really her fault? Her culture, instinct, and livelihood are already dictated by her monstrous species and without that, she is just nothing more than a child as are the others, socially unaware of how their actions and lifestyle affect others. It wouldn't be much different from a human growing up in an environment where murder was acceptable, they wouldn't know any different from that life they live with no critical-thinking to ever question that…_ Luther was only half a meter away from the frightened and crying monster child and unexpectedly to her knelt down to her level letting their eyes meet, there wasn't a hint of violent intent in the older man's eyes.

He slowly held out his hand toward the small lamia that was distrustful of him.

"It's okay… I'm not going to hurt you, neither will he…" Gone was the previous stone-cold countenance that monster saw replaced by a kinder if a bit parental aura that surrounded the man. Teary-eyed the monsters continued to stare at the man who hadn't moved an inch; he was waiting for her to respond either by turning away or accepting his hand.

"Y-you're lying!" She nearly shrieked, nudging away from Luther, Luka had tried to say anything but was stopped by another light sign telling him to wait.

 _Not surprised she doesn't want to trust me, I'm friends with the guy that just knocked her into the wall and in her eyes I just let him do that…I have to show her she can trust me, but she has to take the first step, but how…?_ A stray thought hit him and he couldn't believe he was going to try this outlandish idea…Hamon, his mind screamed for him to not after so many awful experiences regarding its use, and in the end, the idea seemed too manipulative for his liking - exploiting her instincts, but if he could convince her for just a second he was sure things would go smoothly and if it didn't he would stop immediately.

Soon enough the stand user focused on the breathing required on the technique, its pattern was distinguishing enough to be very memorable, granted being put into a life-threatening situation that relied on its very use played a large factor in that. A glimmering silver mist closely surrounded the man's body illuminating the walls of the cave.

The child lamia immediately gazed up at him, the man's presence as warm as his current demeanor towards her, his scent turned fragrant, a cross between a flower and sweet caramel to the monster's sensitive nose. His aura radiated an energy that was so genuine when it reached her and her monstrous form accepted it. She could trust him if only to bathe within that sweet peculiar warmth.

Luka stared at both of them unsure of what to do, there was guilt starting within him starting from the very moment he knocked the monster aside into a wall. For starters he was quite surprised he was capable of that, a bit too late he might've struggled on the ground before he could get his hands on Angel Halo again, and then there was the elephant in the room – the lamia was a child as well, not some an almighty being which was fishy to him…

As the spin user reached out to the child monster again something happened which made Luka gawk, the lamia ignored the friendly gesture, instead, jumping onto the silver covered man. Luther flinched barely remaining on his feet from the sudden contact, she had wrapped around his chest, her form almost snuggling into him. Chambers fully stood up, his hands holding up the snake part of her body. Hamon filled his muscles with life energy enough to turn the small weight of the monster into something comparable to a feather.

"See nothing bad is going to happen to you." He reassured the monster he was holding, the man hadn't expected such a reaction, the worst he could've guessed was her turning lustful and attacking, but this outcome wasn't unpleasant…he could feel the smooth green scales of her snake half and the not too tight hold she had on him.

"Thank you…" She murmured her pain disappearing along with her salty tears the longer she spent in his arms.

"Chumimi~in!" Tusk danced around on its user's shoulder at the success, the sheer joy radiating from the stand and comforting someone made him feel a little bit giddy if he could go through some of his other feelings and the commitment of focus to Hamon breathing.

There was only one word to describe the sight in his arms. _Adorable_...

Though it ultimately did beg the question for the man, just why did this lamia react differently than Alice to his Hamon? He believed the answer laid in general behavior or hunger, seeing as humans were seen as food and it seemed the Ripple enhanced his scent given its life empowering properties in only made sense. _So…does that mean she isn't as hungry as Alice was or have I brought out child instincts…eh that's a stretch, I have no conclusive evidence to actually state that confidently. It could be interesting to figure out…maybe…_

"Luther! Are you alright?" The purple-haired boy inquired, his friend looked back at him going back with the monster neatly resting in his arms in spite of Luther's comforting presence she recoiled slightly into him at proximity to Luka.

"Yes, I am…and I believe we have something to say to her…" The older man responded, in all honesty, there was a reason why he had done this, while empathy was part of it, he still felt that he was to blame for all of this, he was the reason why Luka reacted in such a manner, a lesson taught by him during that night.

"Luka, I was only joking about beating up children, didn't expect you to actually do it." He followed up with a wry quip before groaning from his own awful attempt at humor

"Hey! It's just-"

"Right, my advice for fighting…good reflexes by the way, but it's my fault too, should have mentioned being aware of the context. I mean you can't go mercilessly sealing monsters that are surrendering or are weaker than you." The fake hero solemnly nodded to Luther's words, although he wouldn't exactly agree about sharing blame it was clear who struck who in that situation.

"Why did you hit me? " The Tiny Lamia asked appearing as if the monster was going to burst into tears once again if not for the comfort the one holding her

"It's because you attacked me," Luka answered, bemused at the monster's lack of self-awareness, it was clear that he was only acting in self-defense even if it was a bit overkill.

"But I wasn't going to hurt you!" She countered Luka's relatively calm response with an outburst.

"How was I supposed to know that!" All signs pointed to the start of a shouting match between the monster and the fake hero, but the older man intervened.

"Enough." Luther lightly patted his hand on the lamia's head, soothing her. "Please forgive him… you just startled him, that's all."

Luka calmed down with the lamia child letting silence fill the dank cave, sighing he apologized. "I'm sorry for hurting you, but… you're not exactly innocent here. You and your friends have been causing trouble for the people in Iliasburg, as a hero, I couldn't ignore that."

"At least you said sorry." She pouted before meeting eyes again with her gentle holder. "Are we in trouble? Do the people there hate us?"

"Oh no…not exactly, we'll talk about this after we gather your friends, okay?" If Luther was a less guarded man, his heart would have shattered from the mere face the lamia was giving him, hadn't been for Hamon that was gently coercing through him she would probably have been weeping again.

"Are you going to hurt them too!?" The monster child shook in the older man's grasp, yet she remained attached around him and despite the question, Luther could feel minuscule amounts of trust within her that made her doubt that.

"What, no!" Luka and Luther answered in unison, this denial relieved their newly found monstrous company.

"We'll try not to hurt them…" Chambers added, but then bit back his tongue, he wasn't sure if what he just said could sow doubts nonetheless she didn't seem to be all bothered by his words as she rested her head against his chest.

"Quick question, are there any adults here?" The purple-haired boy nervously asked the lamia.

"Nope, it's just me and the other that live here." While it may have revealed information that was calming to the boy, her answers opened up a myriad of questions that weren't too comfortable for either of the males to ask.

Living in a cave with no adults around, banditry…oh no. In the end, Luka and Luther came to the same realization that what they did was merely a method of survival for the monster children, likely only done out of necessity, them taking satisfaction in it could have also been a factor of boredom that played its part. It wasn't like it was possible for them to just get aid in this continent considering the faith in Ilias was strong here. The fake hero had wanted more clarification, yet he saw the look on Luther's countenance that was so recognizable, a look even the people sometimes wore in his home village, a look that spoke 'Do. Not. Ask.'

"And what about you being the 'Water Bandit of the Four Bandits' do you have any special attacks?" It was out of truthful curiosity and an attempt of changing the general topic to one that has a possibility of a less depressive answer that Luka had asked this.

"No, I don't… we are only pretending to be the Four Heavenly Knights." The Small Lamia said. Finally, something Luka could understand clearly, he had also spent days in his childhood pretending to be a great hero in many of the stories he had heard – a simple, fun, and engaging past time that made many fond memories in those times.

"You look up to them?" Luka smiled as he moved away from the dangerous topic regarding the monster bandits' circumstances.

"Yes, they're the strongest monsters around; each one could take on entire armies!" She excitedly exclaimed, remembering the many thrilling tales and rumors surrounding each one of them some more than others.

"Hmm…interesting" What she thought about it wasn't all that much different from his discovered stories: just replace the monster with a human and the human armies with a monster hoard. The comparison between the heard legends wasn't too far different at least it seemed that way to the boy from the small interaction, perhaps there was the reason for that.

With the help of the lamia, they headed a direct path towards one of the other bandits, the monster, in Luther's hands, nose's was a worthy ally to have, yet they had to rely on the other senses to catch one of the bandits due to the lamia's unwillingness to help them any further than that. Suddenly the group saw two red orbs stare at them from the dark, the figure that was stalking them jumped out in their path.

It was a small blond girl with pigtails wearing practically nothing but except white panties and a dark mantle around her shoulders which would have covered up most of her body if the monster let it, of course, her wide mouth smile revealed the bloodsucking fangs that all of her species possessed. Bats flew around her body creating a blur of brown and black, her beaming grin died down and changed into a puzzled expression when she spotted her scaly friend wrapped around one of the intruders who was holding her up to his chest.

"Eh, I thought you lost! Why were you the one to catch someone with such a sweet scent?" The vampire girl pouted, throwing her arms about, she appeared to have attention centered on the silver aura covering the older man.

"Except she did lose, I'm just holding her." Chambers said adjusting his arms around the lamia he considered letting her go before, but the lamia refused to release him even after stopping his Hamon for a small time, and besides that reason, he had grown a bit comfortable having the small snake monster cuddled in his arms.

"So you were captured, ha! I'll rescue and prove that the Vampire Bandit of Wind is the strongest!" The Vampire boastfully said, causing her friend to glare and the rest group present to awkwardly glance at each other before continuing, neither of them was convinced she was willing to back down, especially if it entailed trouble for the monster.

"Please just stop, we don't want to fight you." But Luka tried regardless if only to fulfill the lamia's request, yet the vampire smirked at this, the fake hero's words sounded like the addition of defeat.

"Ho… then I shall feast on you!" The Vampire Child dramatically declared.

"Guess there is no helping it." The fake hero heaved a sigh drawing out Angel Halo to fight the monster that looked a little hesitant in the face of the sealing blade but attacked anyway. Before Luka could strike at her she turned into a cauldron of bats joining the ones that were already there.

"Dammit." Luka slashed again, confirming to himself that there was no way to hit his opponent when she was in such a horde of bats surrounded him encircling, trying to bite into his body but his clothing kept them mostly at bay.

Luther backed away from the small confrontation sitting against one of the many rocks and cradling the small monster as he focused on his breathing and deciding to have some small talk, Tusk had followed suit as well wedging itself right among them. As his energy had rippled out across his adventure with the girl wrapped around him he could feel a faint 'link' if he could call it that forming between him and the monster, it was indescribable like he just about could feel her very soul, the essence of made her 'her'.

 _This is strange…something to think about for later, I'm definitely not doing anything of that sort here._ Chambers flinched, immediately shut off his Hamon and the Lamia shuddered and glanced at him as if something was missing. This experience was a bit too close for comfort, a contact he was not nor will be ready for. In spite of the lack of warmth and pleasant scent that Hamon brought the girl, he was holding remained pleasantly still likely staying because of trust.

"Ugh, I hate it when she does that, especially in the tag. You aren't able to touch her at all, no fair!" The tiny lamia frustrated and shook her head in disapproval.

"Oh, often play games?" Luther humored the lamia, thanks to his knowledge when it came to dealing with children it was often the better choice to play along to get their attention and trust, besides he didn't have anything better to do than watch Luka swat around bats.

"Yeah… What else would we do in this place when it gets boring? It's not always fun, sometimes the others cheat, but I'm good at hiding and seek. My nose is strongest, hard to get away from me." She smiled, proudly tapping the tip of her nose.

"That's nice, but aren't you worried about your friend here? She might get hurt with the way she is going about this." He got his response in the form of the snake tail tightening its already strong grip on him.

"Nah…she is too much of a scaredy-cat to actually take a hit." The Tiny Lamia confidently replied yet her actions spoke something else, slight worry for her comrade outlaw. Luther uncomfortably shifted under her hold.

"Do you mind letting go, can't carry you around all day." He complained lightly prying away her tail or at least trying to without getting caught. It was pleasant enough to have a light hug, but it started to turn into a painful squeeze with one doing it most likely not noticing the pressure she exerted.

"No!" Thankfully for him while she didn't wrap around even tighter around the man she did hold onto him at that with the top half pulling him into a full-body hug. Luther was starting to regret his choice and while he wanted to be freed from the scaly grasp he had no intention of relying on the spin to release him, making her cry again would just be counterproductive.

"Think about this, if the others see you holding onto me like that, you'll have to hear them whine about it now being fair and then be jealous for the entirety of the day or even the week." He had to play into the child's natural desires and instincts, nobody regardless of their age wants to deal with their friends' annoyances and he doubted if the lamia was any different.

"It's worth it…" She mumbled out letting her forehead rest on his chest, it was hard for Luther to imagine someone so comfortable with physical contact with a stranger, he only did to calm her and his guilt down, but this began to be too much for him. Nonetheless, he continued with his attempt at convincing the monster to let him go.

"But… you can do both this and not be bothered, all you have to do is…let go eventually and act like nothing happened." He offered and it looked like she considered his suggestion, he adjusted himself breathing out a sigh of relief as he felt the pressure on his body being released.

"That's much better..." A moment's pause passed between them. The tiny lamia looked back at the commotion between the fake hero and vampire.

"Hey look, I think she is going to reform!" She whispered over to Luther as he watched his companion try to swipe away the bats that started to gather, condensing around Luka's back as the pale arms of the vampire girl manifested. The rest of the Vampire Child's body reappeared as she grabbed onto the boy's shoulders.

"Mhe hehe!" She laughed while Luka was trying to shake her off, the monster intended on sucking his blood when the purple-haired boy stopped moving.

"Get off already…" Luka dropping his sword he suddenly grasped the unsuspecting vampire's hands pulling her up from his shoulders, finally facing her directly. He held her far above the ground as she flayed around, her bats following her example of being helpless by immediately losing their fighting spirit and flying away.

"Hey! What are you doing?" She desperately asked, continuing to uselessly struggle in the boy's casual hold, the fake hero appeared unsure of what to do.

Her minions had abandoned her and her superior monstrous strength was easily undermined by someone who looked like he hadn't even gone through puberty. It was hard for a child to stay composed under these conditions - it was unfair, that a random boy and his friend decided to barge into their super-secret hideout ruining all their fun…the worst part was seeing her friend get coddled by someone with such sweet energy!

"Why are you being so mean?!" The vampire started to tear up as Luka awkwardly held her small bits of regret slowly manifested within him.

"Crybaby…" The tiny lamia whispered under her breath earning a small eyebrow-raiser from Luther, she knew from experience that her vampiric friend could be a bit of a sore loser when it came to any games or competition and in a real fight which this barely could be compared to one, a tiny grab was nothing compared to the slam that she received!

"Ah…Sorry…" At the risk of breaking his promise or making himself feel worse the boy gently let the vampire kid down onto the ground leaving her to regather her composure and willpower with childish anger and contempt wiping away the bitter tears of defeat.

"Grrr…I won't forgive you for that! If it's come to this…I'll show you my true power!" She furiously stared at Luka, her eyes subtlety flickering with dim light.

"She is going to use her hypnosis…it's really not that much, all he needs to do is turn away." The vampire's scaly friend commented, to which Luther silently nodded in agreement.

"Just wait a second, I'll focus all my magic! Once I'm done just look into my eyes." The vampire announced and Luther felt a small increase in her aura, although it was barely visible and if he wasn't looking he likely wouldn't have noticed.

"Did she just-"

"Yes, your friend here just announced her attack…" The man dryly answered before facepalming both from second-hand embarrassment and to hide from her attempt at mind control.

For a very short moment the dank, musky, and dark insides of the cave were filled to the brim with a white flash moment coming from the vampire monster's eyes temporarily illuminating any unlit space and enthralling anyone looking at it under her control…that is if anyone did look at it…Everyone save for Luka hid their sight beforehand not giving said an inch of a chance of control.

Luther and his temporary companion stared in dread at the boy who stood quietly, carefully examining his surroundings, they couldn't believe it, that the boy, the fake hero was dumb enough not to catch up on the vampire's special attack announcement, but they were more bemused as it appeared that hadn't even done anything to the boy despite him staring point-blank into the monster.

"Huh?! Why didn't it work? You were looking directly into my eyes!" If the walls could hear the cave would have immediately collapsed from the volume and frequency of her howl, her opponent however seemed to be in a completely opposite emotional state, perfectly calm if a bit puzzled.

"Eh…I just blinked…" He casually shrugged unaware of the impact that his revelation had on the crimson-eyed monster who was speechless at his response. Their silent bout was interrupted by a familiar high pitched cackling whose origin was none other than the tiny lamia. She continued to laugh, only stopping to get some air much to humor and slight annoyance of the one beside.

"He…he, he blinked! The mi-mighty B-Bandit of the winds spe-special attack stopped by blinking!" The scaly monster barely breathed out before returning to her uncontrollable laughing fit, each second only served to increase the sinking feeling of embarrassment that her vampire friend experienced, but the lamia couldn't help it, hypnosis- the very skill that her friend had boasted. The blond-haired vampire's cheeks turned red as she sunk into her dark mantle, hiding away from the outside world.

 _This is…just…bullying, isn't it?_ Luther wordlessly stared at the mocked monster and back at the one beside of him that was dying of laughter, it didn't help when the awaited crying fit finally came from the vampire and it seemed he shared the same emotions in this situation as Luka who was awkwardly shuffling around, they communicated the same feeling to each other when their eyes met- pure discomfort.

"Sh-shut up! Stop laughing! At least I didn't get knocked aside like some ball!" The vampire defiantly bawled, tears freely rolling down her cheeks. Using the very edge of her supernatural speed she rushed far away from the mocking cackle that was only beginning to die down.

Luka and Luther were left alone with dying hilarity coming from their scaly 'friend' surrounding them. It eventually stopped, returning to the previous ambient atmosphere that the cave had, from the small water droplets slowly raining down from stalactites to the soft sound of blowing wind coming from the only entrance.

"…It wasn't actually that funny…" The Tiny Lamia admitted, ashamed of the extent of mockery she portrayed toward a person she called 'friend'.

"That was honestly horrible…" Luka agreed, picking up Angel Halo on the ground while closely observing the path that his adversary fled. He sighed realizing that letting her run off was probably a poor decision considering he was supposed to be stopping them and letting them run away.

"At least you're being self-aware; just try to be a bit more considerate next time, please," Luther added his expression shifted to being of cold disapproval that didn't help the lamia feel any better, granted through experience he could tell this mockery was more of small amount spite and frustration rather than full-blown malice so he couldn't go off on a tangent about her behavior even he really wanted to, although it seemed he didn't have to teach any lessons…

"Chu…" Neither was his stand supportive of the idea of chastising seeing the current state of the lamia child, Luther could sense the pure

"Of course I am! I've made her cry and run off!" Much to her credit, she didn't begin crying from this chastisement but nonetheless was flushed red. "And now she is out there somewhere running around, alone…crying…and aren't you supposed to catch us or something?"

"Well, that is a problem, but maybe…" Luka hummed, his assumption could be possible but relied on whether on how mean-spirited the purple lamia was. "You think Alice might stop her?

"Alice…? Is she the one monster that came with you here, I can smell her…she is strong, like very strong…" It was strange for her when she first noticed it; at the start she only smelled Luka and Luther due to her enticing scent, yet now the only thing that was on her mind was that monster's scent, it commanded respect from her and she couldn't help but accept it.

"Yes, she is with us...sort of…" The fake hero provided an unclear answer, he wasn't clear on what to refer to her as in this case…while Alice did nothing to help him in battle; she did offer him training and Angel Halo, so there was some benefit that she gave.

"Oh?"

"Well, not really an ally, more of an observer." Luka clarified observer wasn't the right word for it. Alice was more of a passive benefactor in his journey.

"Let's go already, no use sitting around here anymore, I'm sure Alice won't let some crying monster child run around alone, not even she would that heartless, one more left to 'convince' to stop." Walking further in Chambers called out to them at this point he wanted to end this as fast as possible and could only hope that the fourth fight won't end up as awful as the others.

"It's not my fault it ended up like this…" Luka reminded, but his friend wasn't listening as he strolled on through the lamia following him like a lost puppy.

Not much time had passed until finally the fourth and final member of the Four Bandits appeared jumping out in front of Luka and Luther very much like her comrades. She was a very young dragon pup, but still nevertheless a bit more powerful than the other children.

"Goa!" She made her entrance with a battle cry, her assumed opponent, Luka, hadn't lowered his guard over the course of the trip to her.

"The last of the four, this Dragon of Fire of The Four Bandits shall be your opponent and free my friend from your control, you wile bullies!" The dragon pup fiercely pointed at the awkwardly standing group.

"Y-you got this wrong, we aren't bullies-"Luka tried to argue but the dragon monster yelled louder than him.

"Liar! You've attacked and made fun of my friends. Prepare to taste the bitter taste of defeat!" At her words, the tiny lamia could only stay crestfallen, silent while she let them both deal with her determined friend.

The Dragon pup garnered different and mixed reactions from the males present: while Luka was a bit disheartened that his effort at reasoning with the monster failed it seemed to him that may actually get a fight decent enough to satisfy his slight desire for combat which had been very much starved beyond belief with soul-crushing, embarrassing disappointment and shame. Luther stared blankly, this was about as much as he could expect to happen after the debacle with the Vampire, and Tusk seemed amused by the misunderstanding.

At the end with a rush filled with hopes of true combat, Luka got the first strike hitting a downward slash toward the dragon pup's head, yet was confused when his blade hit something hard almost bouncing off entirely away from his enemy.

At that moment one thought went through his head as he saw the monster enduring the blow. _Right, I remember from the stories – dragons often have high defense, a simple attack won't do especially against those scales…_

Before Luka could follow up or think of a plan his draconic opponent took a deep breath and spewed out a comparatively thick cloud of flame toward the boy's chest, yet despite its quantity, it lacked concentration and heat enough to damage him. There was a delay between her movements afterward which allowed Luka some breathing space to consider his next course of action…

"Got to go!" Luka sprinted past the dragon pup leaving her and her lamia friend in the dust as to what he just did. The only one that had any knowledge of Luka's sudden decision to flee was Luther who was wearing a small smirk on his face.

"Hey! Come back here, I'm not letting you run away like a coward!" It didn't take long for the dragon pup to quickly chase after the fake hero, in the end, Luther and the tiny lamia were left alone watching their friends' hasty leave.

"She is going to get herself hurt and it's all my fault." The tiny lamia dejectedly said looking away from Luther.

"I won't exactly say that, you know Luka's sword?" This self-loathing was beginning to slightly unsettle Luther. Some small comfort was needed to undermine this and the information of the fake hero's eldritch blade's true purpose wasn't known by the monster bandit's exactly, revealing it was the least he could

"That weird thing in his hands?" She inquired curiously, there was no real way she could properly call the weird amalgamation of angel statues a sword, it's the only feature that gave that feeling was its vague sword shape and even then it would be a bit of stretch.

"Yes, it's special as it seals energy instead of actually killing people so your friend here isn't actually in trouble." The spin user clarified although this conversation brought some unpleasant memories regarding the interaction with the angels, their abominably fused form sealed within the blade… By itself, the very encounter wasn't that disturbing for him albeit only for a little bit, no… the most disturbing thing about it was the very idea that he left somebody alone to suffer for an unknown period of time...

 _It's necessary it's either them or this world…_ Luther felt Tusk creep behind his neck nestling against it along the way, he felt the stand's comforting thoughts and emotions how it helped push the self-disgust out little by little, myriads of points to considered popped into his head as his brain went into overdrive. _Hamon… it's capable of so many peculiar things from healing and increasing the body's capabilities to making me a honey fly trap. If I recall correctly…it seemed to soothe the collection of angels there even after my escape, maybe if I… hmm…_

"But if that's true, why did it hurt me?" The lamia monster snapped the man out of his pondering making him a bit indecisive when it came to answering the question before getting his bearings straight.

"Well, you kind of did slam into a wall." He sheepishly reminded the lamia seeming a bit distracted in the process...

"Chu…" Tusk glanced one last time at the path the fake hero ran by, it's simple blue that was in the place of eyes showed concern for both Luka and the Dragon Pup.

"Well, well…what have you been doing?"

* * *

 _What kind of story would this be? The hero running away from the mighty dragon, well it is to lure her into a trap of sorts…that only makes me feel like a villain, but I can't put to waste what Luther taught me._ Luka grimaced as he glanced back at his pursuer that was hot on his tail, there was still no way she could catch up to him given his own speed and a head start nonetheless her determination was admirable.

"Even if you run away, you won't be able to hide because I'll smell you out." He heard her yell out, it wasn't like he was planning on hiding even if he didn't know about her capabilities that would have been too cowardly, and running away was already straining his instinctive mind. The fake hero's body wanted to turn back and fight, it screamed at him that what he was doing was wrong as he suddenly turned a corner around a pillar of mossy rock.

 _No, can't do that, I need to think, so many stories and legends surrounding the defensive power of dragon's scales…the hero has to use a weapon or technique and there has to be a weak point somewhere._ Luka made his conclusion; if a regular attack didn't do much then he would have to all-out he had to use Demon Decapitation.

"Got you!" His turn had cost a bit of his momentum allowing his monstrous opponent to catch up with him, yet her lunge proved to be a fatal mistake as Luka jumped away from her trajectory making her land and flip on the rocky floor of the cave.

 _Her neck has a very little amount of scales, this is not going to be pleasant…_ He readied his sword as the monster quickly got up.

"I'll beat you right here." She tried slashing with her claws but her attack was telegraphed enough to be easily avoided by a simple sidestep. "Why are you so annoying?!"

This continued with Luka occasionally tapping the monster with his blade to keep and increase the distance until he deemed it enough.

"Enough with this, fight me like a hero you call yourself to be." She taunted…being in a good position for his technique. It didn't matter if she would be fully aware of his attack, he just had to be faster.

"Alright, I'll fight you fair and square." Luka bounced on the balms of his feet tensing in anticipation for when she would leave herself open, he had perfect distance and target this attack might have seemed a bit too much for someone her age and size, but he finally had his direct heroic clash with the dragon, and it felt right…

"Finally…" With fierce speed the dragon pup charged once more at Luka, claws open to tear apart her friends presumed tormentor.

It just so happened that her desires will not be fulfilled today as her opponent appeared to mimic her decisions to charge by jumping straight at her, moving with such unexpected swiftness he might as well be vanishing from her view, and then the dragon pup's neck was hit with tremendous force and speed.

 _And with his last attack The Hero defeats The Dragon…_ Luka's attack connected first 'decapitating' his opponent, sealing most of her energy in the process, the fake hero neatly landed on his feet without getting hit, he breathed out in relief once he glanced back and saw the dragon pup lay on the ground lacking any energy to get up immediately as she once did before.

"Waaah!" However much to Luka's chagrin, his childishly determined opponent began to cry, at this point, it was in the least bit expected from the child bandits, a repeating trope for these monsters and to add to his suffering, his monstrous tormentor in the form of a purple lamia finally decided to show up right behind him.

"The battle between the bully hero and the dragon is finally over." Alice sardonically commented, her slithering movements being highly audible. "And I never imagined your numb skull was capable of thinking of such tactics, even if it was a simple one such as running away, you've at least proved yourself to be more than some barbarian…though not by a lot."

Luka sighed, once again even if with the praise she had managed to insult him in some way, turning around to look at Alice he was slightly surprised to see Luther and the other company she had gathered: The Vampire and Goblin were joined by the Dragon Pup in their frightened act of his monstrous companion and him awhile the Lamia Child closely stuck around using Luther as cover.

And Luther was as always…quiet and lost in thought with an indifferent expression.

"So…you gathered them here?" Luka asked in spite of its answers obviousness, but the fact that the monster took her time to gather all the kids was a bit unbelievable for him, the kids huddled around and spoke in extremely hushed whispers.

"What? Do you have such little opinion of me that you think I'll carelessly let them run around?" Alice indignantly glared at Luka before shaking her head at such a rude assumption.

"…Scary lady…" He heard them mutter out, they weren't exactly happy with Alice here and it all pointed to something that wasn't pleasant for them – a stern scolding.

The main conundrum for the boy now was: what now? It wasn't like he didn't expect to win, just that the true identity of the ones causing trouble for Iliasburg had shaken him up a bit and not in a traditional sense.

"So…what do we do with them now? " Luka could immediately predict the consequences from his question – it wasn't at all going to be pleasant. Luther immediately frowned in expectation of something awful and the makings of a smug grin on Alice's lips were unmistakable.

"You were the one who wanted to root out the bandits - Sell them, violate them, kill them or eat them, do whatever you will with them." The Monster Lord replied with sadistic mockery and a cacophony of scared screams and crying from the monster children followed, pleading them not to do anything at all while Luka argued against the purple lamia's attempt at traumatizing the monster bandits.

All except a single one of the bandits was convinced of their supposed malicious intent, the tiny lamia looked expectantly at the facepalming Luther who eventually returned her gaze with comforting but short head pat. He recognized what just happened: Alice uttered a single sentence had managed to put such a large mess to deal with for Luka and Luther all for the sake of 'spitting' both the fake hero and the child bandits for wasting her time with these 'annoyances' if only he could pinpoint a way to properly calm the children down. _What do I do?_

He was uncertain on how to proceed with relieving the monster children, that was until the man felt his stand shift around his bag. Chambers frowned; he was sure that he had nothing that could help his tiring situation but his link with the stand told him otherwise, Tusk continued searching until they both felt the familiar touch of a plastic wrapper – he immediately knew what it was.

 _Candy…the universal bribe of all children, who knew that stashing this stuff would prove useful._ Luther strolled to four bandits in a non-threatening manner; each step he took was slower and lowered the height difference between them all as he knelt down, though each of the monster children that now surrounded him still showed distrustful of his presence although not as much as Luka or Alice.

"It's alright…no reason to be afraid. We are not going to do any of that sort to you. Everything is going to be fine." His soothing comments had managed to reduce their pleading and weeping to sobs.

"Right, we only want you to go to Iliasburg to apologize, you caused them a lot of trouble…do you understand?" Luka could only hope they would agree, stop crying and go willingly, it was getting on his guilty consciousness and nerves.

"I'll apologize…" And many other lines followed although they were still crying even with their compliance this didn't continue for long as their attention was most peaked when Luther pulled out some pieces of caramel candy and held it out for them, they eyed at it once the sugary smell hit their sensitive noses.

"I have candy if you want any. I promise you nothing bad will happen, so here's a token of peace." He took one of the cubes popping it into his mouth. They followed his example, each one cautiously taking their self-assigned pieces. This hesitation didn't last once the sweets hit their tongues' taste buds and melted bringing sugary sweetness and with that their anguish vanished.

"Do you have any more?!" Luther heard one of them excitedly ask, unfortunately for them there wasn't much left, it was his private stash that he forgot about after all. He turned to see Alice approach him intently eyeing

"You had candy? And didn't even tell me about it, do you even know how droll and annoying it was to sit beside a cave and catch these brats? Give that to me…" Alice demanded making the monster children back off slightly out of fear. For now, she offered the peaceful alternative if he would somehow refuse the demands of the Monster Lord then simple hypnotism should do it, there was nothing horrifying about partaking in some caramel.

"Oh come Alice, don't be like that, it's his candy if he wants to give it to them then let him, besides is it really right to take sweets meant for children?" Luka's intervention only caused one of Alice's eyes to twitch.

"Candy is candy no matter who it belongs to, is it wrong for me as a connoisseur of good food to seek it especially after I cleaned up your 'attack' of the bandits and you should consider that if they even deserve any of it after what they've done to bother the people of Iliasburg." She refuted, mimicking Luka's voice with her last point given, each one only making the four bandits feel more disheartened.

"Now Luther, we can either do this the easy way or hard way, the choice is yours…" The purple lamia flashed a sickly sweet smile that promised him an unpleasant experience.

 _I'm sorry little ones…don't want to get hypnotized_ Chambers glanced at the children's disappointed expression and sighed. He already completed his self-assigned mission - at least managed to stop them from crying and they could bear a little bit of juvenile disappointment over a full-blown weeping fit of four monster children.

With a stiff upper lip Luther reached into his bag and pulled out three hard caramel candies that were unwrapped by Tusk in his bag handing them over to the obviously satisfied Alice all while the others watched in either jealousy, small amounts of contempt from the monsters and a feeling of defeat from Luka.

"There we go, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She savored the taste with a large crunch. "These are good! Did you make these?

"No I didn't, but I do know how to make more."

"Do you have any more?" This time Luka was the one to ask, a desire to taste this sweet partly because of his own curiosity and envy and that there weren't too many chances in his own village of eating something as sweet candy.

"Unfortunately that was the last of my supply and I don't think I'll be making any more anytime soon…" The older man grimaced once he saw the surrounding disappointment increase, the only person in the cave that held some semblance of satisfaction was Alice who appreciated her victory with a large grin.

"I think we're done here, as much as I wouldn't like to say this you're a bit in trouble here and I don't think you'll get out of it without our help, so please… come with us." Luther stood up gesturing toward the exit, nobody out of the bandits was to deny his outstretched aid, even if with his statement of the predicament they seemed determined to comply and repent, he did after all show kindness to them…

"We…are sorry…" The tiny lamia hung her head low, her outlaws in arms followed their friend's example by either mumbling an apology or staying silent.

"It's not us that you have to apologize to, but thank you anyway." Luka notified the monsters to which they solemnly nodded.

"Right, right, we've stayed here long enough, it's already begging to get too damp for my nose, seriously how do stay here?" The Monster Lord complained glaring at growing moss that dominated the cave's interior like it had personally insulted her, the rest of the group could only either awkwardly chuckle or stare off somewhere from her stuffiness.

* * *

Journeying back to the city proved to be a bit more lively than usual, with the some of the normally empty presence filled with the group's new upbeat company, while usually there some periods of silence during travel time the monster children added to the number of topics that could be discussed, most of which were light-hearted, but there were hints of nervousness hidden within their stride either from Alice's and Luka's presence given by the way they preferred to keep their distance or from the potential guillotine that awaited them.

The four bandit's tension wasn't gone unnoticed by Luka, Alice or Luther in fact it remained throughout the start of the departure from their hideout, it was clear enough for them that the children weren't completely fine, even if they hadn't mentioned it.

"Are you sure everything will be fine, I don't think the people in Iliasburg like us very much?" The Dragon girl was the first to reveal her group's discomfort, none of them could be blamed for having such doubts to a certain extent and her company listened intently.

"Yeah…I think they're scared of us." Her vampire friend clarified with her own assumption, for her it was easy to see why that would be the case as did the others.

"It's always easy to steal from them, especially if they run away." The Goblin Girl added just before enough could any further, her own experience regarding her previous "robberies", many humans ran away from the simple sight of them and they hadn't even fought any of those proclaimed "heroes" they have been hearing about.

"It's natural to do that, their fault for being complete cowards to just drop everything and run. " Alice grumbled. It was frustrating to see people cower against monsters that weren't even strong either taken down via single blows or none at all, did these humans not have a lick of pride in their fiber?

"Why do you do that, doesn't that only make it worse?" Luka asked, he knew that the longer this continued, the more people noticed, the fear grew to turn to hate, and eventually the surrounding humans would have sent someone competent to deal with them, at least it was expected of them and the end...wouldn't be pleasant to think about.

"Nobody ever wants to talk to us, they run, try to attack or ignore, so it's hard to ever get any help, sometimes we get too hungry." The tiny lamia's words silenced put the group into an uncomfortable silence, in the current state they were in it was hard for Luka, Alice, or Luther for that matter to imagine like that, however it served to explain their actions even if the circumstances were unpleasant.

"Oh…" Luka immediately regretted inquiring them on their banditry, yet one more question remained.

"What about your pa-"The fake hero felt an elbow lightly dig into his ribcage, grasping his wound he looked to see that the perpetrator was none other than Luther who had fierce look in his eyes that told him to stop and Alice's side glance only showed a bit of disappointment the boy's lack of tact.

"What about what?" The purple-haired caught the nonverbal suggestions of his companions and decided to comply.

"Oh…nothing, just a passing thought." Luka seemed to immediately diffuse the created tension of his companions as he saw them return to their usual calmness.

* * *

Luther looked onward to the encroaching city of Iliasburg with slight worry in his heart. It was only a matter of time till he and the rest of the company will have to witness 'the grand apology', after everything that has happened he could only hope events still stay predictable enough, that his presence didn't butterfly effect a random hatred for monster children…as for the rest. As long as the man could keep everything in check he reckoned that he would have easy enough time in this continent, it's the rest of the damn planet that gave him unease, but for now, he could have his 'rest'.

_One can only hope…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Luther's notes this time around, they'll still be here but there is not really that comes to mind when relating a note to this chapter.
> 
> More one thing about Luther's notes that I need to clarify, they are written after the end of SOD, I didn't mention this prior since I thought it would be obvious considering the Hamon note couldn't be possibly be written after Luther was nearly raped and then went to get black out drunk. (Problem that comes with this is trying to not to spoilt things)
> 
> After this we'll be exploring Harpy Village incidents among other things...
> 
> Unfortunately...I'll be taking a month long hiatus due to academic reason, to sort out my sleeping schedule...god knows how long I've spent slamming my head against the keyboard during night time. (I might still rewrite chapters a tiny bit during that time.)
> 
> Thank you for the support, I'll see you next Chapter.


	9. Tangent

Large crowds gathered in the town square huddled around in separate social circles arranged in association with another either by profession or relationships. Among them, guards stood in between keeping the peace while cautiously waiting. Hushed, but still loud whispering could be heard as they beheld the sight before them. Some were still trying to push away the crowds to peer into the event, but this was no ordinary calling. A city gathering unlike any other and the main focus of it lied in at the very center – the Four Monster Bandits solemn and filled with anxiety stood, the ones that were bothering Iliasburg's and the surrounding villages' locals. Many looked at them bemused, others were in awe or discomfort, and some even couldn't help but let their contempt escape from their souls

Yet anyone who would dare to even act upon that contempt would likely face dire consequences, for Luther towered over the small girls almost like a parental guardian. His apathetic frown only enforced his intimidating appearance that promised anyone that had the desire to hurt the little Monster's pain and possible death, along with him the other saviors of the city joined him. The Four Bandits felt underneath his vigilance and the tiny lamia cling to his leg to feel a semblance of protection

Luka try as he might, he couldn't exactly appear intimidating, although his status sure did bring an air of supposed untouchability to the people. Alice's studying gaze sent shivers down their spines, her mysterious presence garnered the respect of the people, and there was something about her, some unexplainable phenomena surrounding her that commanded obedience and fear in the people's hearts despite her rather provocative attire.

"We're so sorry for bothering you…" The tension was interrupted by the sudden wave of apologies thrown out at the people of Iliasburg, who seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief as most of them relaxed. First, there was the sudden appearance of the strange heroes that rescued their city from its equally as sudden draconic oppressors, and then their bandit problem was solved by the same heroes. A puzzling godsend for this town…

"Geeze, the bandits were little things like this?" Most followed this example of slight, but thankful disbelief and even the city guards were relaxing their grip on their weapons.

"I saw them a few times, and I thought they might be kids…"

"We have to punish their leader. They have done harm to our community after all." Some voices stood out in their desire for justice however small it may be, especially some of the more devout followers of Ilias, though many appeared hesitant at the idea with the reveal of the childish origin of their annoyance. It didn't stop the small bandits from being afraid.

"And…what might you suggest? " Luther stepped forward, his voice cold, Tusk floating above him, the sound of his boots hitting the cobble bricks along with his stare silenced and made them retreat into crowds. "They're kids, and as far as it's to my knowledge they haven't done much damage, save for stealing some food to survive, which well…you're little town doesn't look that much worse off without it."

The citizens whispered fiercely amongst each other, the stand user heard small snippets of agreement, and the present military refused to pose as much as a warning to him scared of the consequence they might bring. Chambers was soon joined by Luka, offering a rational reprieve away from his companion's imposing presence. "They did apologize and promised to stop as well… in all honesty, I can't blame them for doing what they did. Living alone in a cave isn't easy…"

Painful silence passed after his reveal, the citizens of Iliasburg considering the life that their harassers have lived, few even looked a light bit ashamed.

"It seems like they're genuinely sorry, why not forgive them? It sounds like they lived a hard life." The owner of the Sutherland Inn suggested. The idea of forgiveness becoming more prevalent in the populace's mind.

"There were a lot of Monsters in the forest twenty years ago. Once the bandits showed up it looked like they fled." An older man, possibly one of the few elders added as he slightly approached closer. Monsters came and went into their continent either taking men, valuables, and resources. Leaving nothing but remnants of their destruction or having settled into the far corners, some even unknown to the most curious explorers. However this time it seemed the Monsters left more than pillaged land in their wake, they left their very children abandoned, it didn't matter whether it may have been a forced decision or one of free will, the people cared not."

"That hero does have a point - these bandits didn't really do much to us." A trader and tool merchant carefully eyed the dragon and vampire children." The only thing we were afraid of was the dragon and vampire."

Like that the tension ceased once more, very few of the less interested citizens were already leaving to go about their day. Luka's tensed up shoulders relaxed, his hold on the Angel Halo also loosened, as did Luther's defensive stance. The Monster children seemed more composed in the face of such acceptance.

"Well, it is like that then- stealing to survive and no home." The innkeeper paused for a moment gauging the reactions of her fellows and the Monsters. "I'm sure we'll be able to accommodate you here somehow, but that doesn't mean you'll get out scot-free. You'll have to put in an honest day's work to earn your keep."

"Okay…" The dragon girl and leader of the bandits responded but were soon surprised to be flooded with requests. This innkeeper's suggestion prompted many opportunistic sorts of Iliasburg to offer jobs suited to their unique talents, the local blacksmith knew the potential of dragon flames when applied to weapons and armor, a warehouse owner saw how casually the tiny goblin carried around her war hammer. Soon enough the crowds of people along with the city guards dissipated. A large majority satisfied with the conclusion, some remained distrustful but were glared away from the center by Alice.

"Oh, A happy ending for everyone!" Luka proclaimed, smiling brightly. For the humans of this city to so quickly accept the Monster meant that his ideas were certainly plausible, it meant a victory against Alice and her cynicism.

"For the most part, look over there." Amused Alice pointed over to Luther, almost all of the bandits already left to see to their new jobs, all except one. The Tiny Lamia remained latched on to the cold man, refusing to release him.

"Wait, you're leaving, can't I go with you?" The small lamia asked, looking up to him with pleading nearly teary eyes. Tusk danced around its user's shoulder at the prospect but was ultimately mentally silenced. Luther blankly stared back at the adorable Monster child with a slightly pained expression.

 _Again adorable but…I can't._ Chamber knelt to meet the small child's eyes, he took a deep breath gently putting his hand on her shoulder, though by her pouting he noticed his mild parental gesture did nothing to ease the small girl's nerves.

"I'm sorry, but you can't go with me – too dangerous. All of your friends are here and you would leave them for someone you barely even know?" To say the least, Luther was bemused at this, he couldn't imagine trusting someone so deeply, although considering she did trust him during what was for her a life or death situation could have at least explained this behavior, but he still found it baffling to consider traveling with someone so readily.

"How can I stay here? No one offered me a job and the others ran off, this place is just too different! You're the kindest human I've met. You didn't hurt me and treated me nicely. I can't exactly say the same about this city, some of them don't like me even being here…I saw their stares…" The tiny lamia pushed him down from his burnable position, hanging onto and hugging his chest with her body with force much the same as she before in the cave.

"You'd still be safer here. Sentora won't be kind to you, safety isn't guaranteed with me and I'm practically a wandering hobo myself. Please…there are many people, Monsters and humans alike that would want and will hurt you, do yourself a favor, and stay with your friends. You might find a place to stay." He brushed her hair, swallowing a lump in his throat. At the side of his vision, he spotted his traveling companions approach him with a small dragon girl in tow, he knew had to finish this up quickly.

"Look…maybe… after my journey is over and I find a home for myself…I could go and take you back there if you want…" Lying, normally something he was used to at this point, yet he couldn't help but feel immense shame in the core of his soul, Tusk certainly didn't help with its screeching within. It felt like a part of his soul died with how the lamia's expression lit up like a bright sun as she wiped the very little tears that had formed.

"Really?" Out of excitement, she squeezed his body tighter with her tail, the man in her constriction yelped in pain.

"Yes." He hissed out. "Now, just let me go for a bit…it's getting uncomfortable…"

"Oh…alright, sorry." Her tail loosened from his body letting Luther get up, as if nothing happened between them, though the tiny lamia noticeable still hung close to him. They both turned to see the dragon girl approach.

"Hey, what are you waiting around here for?" The leader enthusiastically asked her sullen mood from before drastically different. Luka and Alice watched in silence, meeting Luther's grave and guarded stare.

"I…was saying goodbye and why are you asking me that? You're the one that ran off the first you got." The lamia child pouted, her friend flashed an apologetic smile.

"Well, I needed to see where to go, besides I went to look for you, didn't I?" The Dragonkin offered her a hand to her compatriot; small squabbles weren't going to break them apart that easily if years of sticking together showed them anything. "Now come on, we'll go look around."

But before leaving the dragonkin lightly slapped her head in realization much to the confusion of her friend. "Oh, right I nearly forgot!"

She turned to Luka and pulled out a shiny red orb in front of him, something she intended to sell, but given their reputation as bandits and Monsters, it wasn't likely anybody would be willing to take it off her hand without marginally lowering the price. If it couldn't be sold then it would serve another purpose. "You've helped us so much, so let me give you this."

"Uh…where did you get this?" Luka warily eyed the red gem in his hand, whatever it was it looked important and valuable; he even spotted Alice's curiosity at the sight of it. It was an object he couldn't imagine ever ending up in the bandits' possession, unless…

"Some rich people saw me by the hideout and ran away." She proudly exclaimed. To have simple humans run away in fear at the sight of you was both a blessing and a curse. They may not be able to legitimately interact with them, but the stuff they dropped ended up being useful sooner or later.

"The gem dropped out of their luggage." The tiny lamia added. "We think it might be a valuable treasure."

"I see…is it alright to give me something so valuable?" Let alone something that was stolen, he was hesitant to carry around such an unrightfully earned reward, even if he wasn't the one who took it. He shuffled it in his hand while pondering on it, eventually coming to a single conclusion.

"Ah that's it, I'll just have to find the owner and give it back to them." With a nod the fake hero held the shiny red orb more confidently, the Dragonpup looking all the more pleased at his decision at keeping the gift, especially if it was used for just cause.

"Once again, thank you! You might be a bully hero, but you are a good bully hero. Goodbye!" The dragon Monster skipped along the cobble streets although at a slower pace than usual letting her friend keep up. Her words made Luka choke up, particularly when combined with the smirk that his monstrous companion was giving him.

"Bully hero…" He heard her whisper as she let out a few chuckles, it was another name added to a list of nicknames she no doubt would think of in their journey. The boy shuddered at the thought, and it was already enough being called an idiot. Alongside the new idea for an insult for Alice, this was his reward – a gem of unknown purpose or origin.

The tiny lamia following her friend stopped for a moment, turning to the bizarre group of adventures as she gazed at Luther, hesitantly uttering. "Goodbye, I hope to see you again."

"B-bye." The older man barely responded, the weight of his lie finally dawning on him as watched her leave.

" **Chu."** He could feel his stand's sheer disapproval. An emotion he ultimately agreed with, not one of his damned lies came close to being as disgusting as this one. All of the others had good intentions and eventual beneficial payoff – he could live without being constantly pursued as an inter-universal traveler and his companion could continue without the burden of possibly forbidden knowledge. But this one barely had any justification or than to stop a child from pestering him.

 _Holy shit…I just lied to an orphan that I would adopt her…_ Luther forced down the bile and self-disgust down his throat, thankfully keeping all within himself, he needed to focus and compose his inner self before he broke down.

The man used the only thing that seemed to give some semblance of peace, Hamon breathing, although sparingly. However he didn't feel the serenity that accompanied its use, instead, a chill spread through his body and soul. Frostbite spread throughout his skin covering him in a white icy texture, it didn't burn or damage in any way, Rather a protective shell. A soft breeze started howling around him as he glowered at his hands

He felt empty…it stayed off his negative feelings enough, but the idea that he would attain any prospect of joy ended with it as well. Chambers stopped his breathing; better feel disgusted, than not anything at all…his hearing picked up on his friends' conversation, perhaps in an attempt to divert his attention.

"To think such a valuable thing is in such a place…I don't want a human to misuse it, at least there is no sign of silver or blue, so no issues here." Luther and Luka heard Alice mutter to herself and sigh, one of them already of the orbs' purpose – a way to get to the Hellgondo continent.

"Eh? Alice, do you know what this thing is?" Luka held it out to her as if showing it would do any better of a job at convincing her to reveal information, the purple-haired boy had a smidge of a feeling that he won't get anything from her.

"Of course I do, who do you think I am? Although it's probably for the best that I don't tell you." Luka huffed at her response, disappointingly shoving the red gem into his bag, they both glanced at Luther who was palming his face.

"Well, well…aren't you prime father material? I could have sworn, they would be crying all the way here. Now…where did a wandering loner like you learn to do that?" Alice inquired; it seemed the man took a complete one-eighty when he spoke with the Monster children. A soft speaking tone, bribing with candy, speaking to their level…it seemed too far off to what the Monster Lord saw within the man, such a capability for kindness didn't seem to fit Luther much to her opinion or rather the vision of Luther she created.

 _I will figure you out…eventually._ Truthfully she didn't mind this mystery if it posed no danger, just another subject to keep herself preoccupied.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll be a good parent someday…" Luka said, unaware that each remark tormented the man bit by bit. It wasn't as if he hadn't desired such a thing, but it was just impossible. His careless lifestyle could not hope to create a healthy childhood for anybody.

"I had helped take care of my younger brother, everything you saw was learned painstakingly, kids are…finicky creatures…it takes a certain amount of dedication to learn how to interact with them…probably because we ourselves often forget what's like to be so young…so innocent…" Luther remarked with a deep breathe needed anything to continue this conversation and keep his emotions at bay, disclosing some truth didn't seem too bad to him, in fact, it might have made him feel a little light in spite of how simple it might be, they even seemed to agree with the assessment about children with their silent nods

"Oh, where is he now? Can't imagine you just went up and left to traveling, leaving him all alone." The purple-haired hero curiously questioned him further, any amount of information on him was deeply desired for the boy, his strange friend certainly did have a way of intrigue the people around, whether it was intentional or not, perhaps it was just his mysterious presence…

"Alive and kicking, most likely doing better than I am." He laughed a bit from the self-deprecating jab, no pain came from, in the end, it felt justified and most importantly true.

"That's not much of a high standard for someone who is stranded on a continent." The purple lamia grinned wickedly, joining Luther's supporting Luther's bout of self-deprecation.

"Alice…" Luka grimaced, his own objection only serving as fuel to fire that was the Monster's amusement. "Uh…whatever…come on let's go, we need to stock up on more supplies in the market, luckily it's on our way out."

"No, she is correct…compared to him, I've hit rock bottom, but you'll help me get outright?" Chambers flashed a fake smile past his subtly pained expression, the boy needed more encouragement, last night training made it clear as day. And… it felt nice having somebody he could mutually rely on in these trying times.

"Of course, you'd help me and I help you." Luka returned his kind expression with his own as they walked to the city markets, their brains preoccupied on different topics, some were simple, and some more were more complex. For Luther, his mention of his younger family member brought back pleasant memories that kept him wandering in his mind.

_It…would be nice to take care of someone like that again, it brought a bit of light to earlier days, sure it was a pain…but those better times with him were irreplaceable, a part of your life where you want to re-experience it again and again because the trials were worth it. Perhaps that's why I wanted to have my own; to know you helped bring in a person into the world and watched them grow is a gift. That girl likely grew up without any parents, alone. Such a shame, there are many more like her in this and my world…maybe just maybe…it doesn't have to be a lie…maybe I'll come back, be a good parent figure to someone who never would have had one._

_Should I even get my hopes up?_ He scowled. _Get those thoughts out of your head Luther! You can barely take care of yourself, let alone someone else…who would want some alcoholic down on their luck as a parent? What about my world, I have to go back, taking her with me is out of the question. That would cause many more issues when I get back. It's best for both of us if she stays._

"Such a strangely optimistic conclusion…I never expected that to happen." Alice quietly mused underneath the shade of the wide rooftops. However much to her chagrin, her voice was loud enough to be picked up on by her companions. They stood around in the marketplace catching many glances or stares of awe from the locals, but none of them seemed to have a reason or courage for that matter to approach them.

"Is something wrong with that?" Luther perked up from watching Luka recount his purchased supplies, after some time he realized he could ask a long intended question. It seemed unlikely for him to believe that the Monster would possess such an arrogant nature regarding her own beliefs, that she would desire even the worst outcome just to be proven right, his previous conversations with her didn't give that impression.

"No, of course not, though it does beg the question – how did these people living on a continent known for its anti-Monster sentiment come to accept them?" It didn't make sense for her, that they suddenly dropped this and accepted these little Monsters, who are widely regarded as the enemy in the Ilias teachings, into their community.

She had certainly expected more backlash from Iliasburg, which as the leader of all Monsters she would inevitably have to deal with, it would be a shame on her honor if her direct inaction hurt orphan Monsters. Still, it didn't mean she wasn't curious to investigate strange behavior.

"They accepted Amira." Luka and Alice stared at Luther while checking their surroundings as he had unknowingly uttered an unholy incantation to summon wile wretch from the deep depths of the world.

"Yes. But Amira is harmless and a bit of a special case." The Monster Lord quickly refuted, in her own eyes, that unfortunate lamia lack the complete capability to be intimidating to even humans, besides she hadn't exactly made herself a nuisance with the populace.

"Well this is a city, people here seem to be more open-minded, can't imagine that happening in my village," Luka suggested as he winced, remembering the times where a mention of Monsters riled up their fear that led to long term hatred. In the end, his idea was taken aside.

"Open-minded compared to a village that completely hates Monsters…" Alice pointed out.

"Eh…" The fake hero narrowed his eyes and then shrugged, a different and more concise reason was needed to convince, so he went with his second assumption. "Maybe it's because they were children and they haven't done anything serious."

"That and I don't think they wouldn't trust the judgment of the ones that saved their city," Luther added basic intuition from the way people observed them told him that they had formed a respective image of heroes in the eyes of the people, one that was hard to distrust. Coupled with a request that is only slightly discomforting to commit to - accept children into their community, only the ones that truly hate Monsters from the bottom of their heart could have qualms with this.

"Hoo… Trust out of status? It was not the only motivation…no..." She hummed, a familiar wicked smile returning to her face. "As far as they know it we are the ones that beat Granberia - a Monster who almost with little to no effort nearly razed the entire city to the ground. I doubt there is anybody here that has the spine to oppose someone who they think is stronger than that."

"I'm sure it isn't like that, can't you just put a little more trust in humans?" Luka sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his neck, though much of what he requested didn't reach the lamia's radar.

"Oh…but is, didn't you notice how the guards were shaking in their boots at the mere thought of fighting you when Luther approached that one burgher, I could smell the fear in their stench." Alice reminisced, her snickering sending shivers down the poor boy's spine.

 _Was I that scary?_ Luther awkwardly shifted remaining silent as ever, he couldn't imagine himself striking fear into the hearts of others. It seemed all too villainous for him to do so and to not even notice it, just as if it was second nature to him. Was all of that really necessary? The situation would have solved itself without his small intervention. Coupled with his lies, his committed murder he couldn't help but feel self-disdain, he could only hope he didn't have to anything else desperate.

"Chumimi~in" The presence of Tusk dominated his mind as he stared at his own fists, what he did was for a rightful purpose - defending somebody else's livelihood without actually harming anyone. A mere threat was all he did today. That was it…not a butchered corpse was left from his actions, just a bad day for some stranger.

"Maybe you are right…they did seem a little uncomfortable," Luka admitted, despite how cynical it was some of the people that gathered around them did seem to be a little frightened of what they were capable of.

"Of course I'm correct, people are a lot more complicated than you think. My judgment is more trustworthy than you think. After all, it was my call to save you from Granberia." Her slyness only grew at the sound of Luka's groan. Unbeknownst to them, a figure approached from the shadows.

"My beloved…" An eerily familiar hissing voice caused the fake hero to jump in surprise as his group suddenly turned their attention to their new company, a collective inner frustration smoldered within Luka and Alice at the reveal of Amira – the unfortunate lamia.

 _This is…the most surreal thing I've witnessed so far._ Luther couldn't exactly describe what he felt as he witnessed the famous or rather infamous reverse lamia that was Amira, her appearance was relatively normal apart from the skimpy attire and most important feature of her snake part of her body including head and neck. Her appearance was thankfully too ridiculous on its own right to touch the uncanny valley as she presented herself.

 _She doesn't seem too repulsive._ Perhaps the only positive aspect he could give her credit for was the lack of predatory gaze he was used to seeing on so many Monsters even on Alice, whether it was from an inability to do so because of her facial structure or simply because it wasn't too much in her nature he didn't care, though admittedly his scientist mind passed around about the logistics of having a snakehead.

 _Was she cold-blooded, although based on her clothes I guess not. Did she have the capability to see in the dark, how was her hearing? What about venom?_ He wondered, as there didn't seem to be a conceivable way she would be capable of hearing.

"Oh…you came back again." Differently from Luther's neutral, yet curious state Luka didn't seem to be all too chipper on meeting his "informant'.

"Of course I came back again. I'm surprised by the true heroine after all." She boasted, her voice failing to sound remotely attractive enough to make her sentence anything but wince-worthy.

"When did you become the heroine?!" Alice growled, she wasn't the only one to not take kindly of her words or her presence for the matter, it was as if she was a magnet for all the possible disdain that the Monster Lord and the Fake Hero could muster up meanwhile Luther and his stand could only stare in bemusement.

"And I see you have your other companion, the hero of heroes!" Amira exclaimed, now it was time for Alice and Luka to be shocked and confused, any amount of disgust they held for her vanished for that second. The people that walked by paid no mind to the unfortunate lamia's peculiar conduct.

"The hero of heroes?" Chambers repeated again and again in his own thoughts, all of his previous questions about her physiology vanished in place of another with a downright outlandish nature to it. He nearly experienced a mind crash as if he hit a sudden speed bump while going at light speed. A title he could never see himself wearing, let alone one of a regular hero. "Why call me that?"

"Why? Isn't it obvious? You're the one who saved my beloved, valiantly charging in against insurmountable odds to save your friend. Truly inspiring, a worthy contender for my heart, but alas my love remains true for you, Luka." Amira's revelation made Luther's company share a painful look of condolence at him as he began silently choking and heaving up. The unfortunate lamia remained unaware of his disgust.

 _Thank whatever god is out there that she didn't fall for me, yes… even you Ilias. I think…I think I understand now._ A chill went down his spine as if Death itself appeared to him but a minuscule moment, yet admittedly it would have a much more desirable fate than whatever this was. Tusk within his body felt pity for the poor Monster but nonetheless shriveled up at the thought of ever being pursued by her, like a supernatural concept of distaste surrounded the very notion of her being attracted to him.

"Unless you'd be willing to fight for my love. Oh, how dramatic when two best friends fight for a maiden's heart." A bit of droll went down her mouth, as fantasy played out in her head with familiar faces participating in battles of wit and duels of fate for her, however soon it was drowned out by loud denial.

"No, thank you!" Luka and Luther yelled out in unison, with a huff their monstrous ally waved off such ridiculous imagination. There wasn't even the slightest amount of chance that such an event would occur between them, let alone for someone like Amira as far as the Monster Lord was concerned.

"Then I shall continue seeking for Luka's love, we are destined to be together and I will show you what I'm now capable of." With a click of her tongue, Amira's energy started to increase and gather, oddly into a heart shape. Luther felt her energy comparatively spike, yet there was something off about it, its flow was too disjointed with it cutting off at certain intervals. She directly faced Luka; the boy took a defensive stance, remaining slightly curious as to what was about to occur.

"Take this, heart splash!" Raw magic was about to be fired at the fake hero, however with a pink flash of light and agonizing screech she faded into nothing, leaving the group of heroes alone, relieved, but nonetheless a completely confused mess as they tried to process the situation.

 _Uh…my head hurts…what did I just witness?_ The stand user grasped his head. Amira's energy seemingly ripped itself apart adding to the dim and foggy environment. There were still minor traces of it left, leading to unknown paths.

"Chu…" Tusk and its user lamented. He was too confused to even begin to find the rapid pace of ridiculous events humorous. Amira's sudden screech of pain didn't help him either. Part of Luther hoped this wasn't the end of her appearances in his journey. It would have been too meager of a death for anyone to suffer. A fate he would not wish on anyone.

"That was…" Luka started, absolutely dumbfounded to the point where any other words he would've said were left on the tip of his tongue. He closed and opened his mouth multiple times over a minute.

"Completely idiotic." Luckily for Luka, the Monster Lord finished his trail of thought with her almost signature catchphrase shaking her head in disapproval. At least she wasn't the only one with disapproval. Luther's cold stare had taken a more lost and critical appearance to it.

"For once, agreed." That was all Luka could add to her comment.

"So…now that we are done with that, let's move on…." The fake hero suggested as he pulled out a map to desperately try to distract himself. They followed his example, slowly marching to the city's gates with him as their collective composure gathered itself bit by bit in torturously awkward silence. Luka focused his attention on the locations listed on the map.

"I'm not going to Sentora yet, I think... there are people that might need our help and some other strange oddities that are worth seeing." Luka's thoughts crossed on three of his remaining clear locations, he could immediately proceed with his goal and go to Iliasport to the north, but he decided against it leaving him with Enrika and…

"Happiness Village." Alice blurted out much to the surprise of the fake hero who shared a bewildered glance with his other human companion. A strange look of hunger crossed her face, but it was unlike the primal one of Monsters, it called for something more refined to fulfill her gourmet taste.

"Eh? What? Why?" While Luka had no particular objection to going to the village, after all the community there was in danger and he wouldn't be able to begin calling himself a hero if he ignored their desperate plea for aid, but curiosity would no doubt manifest in the face the sudden shift in Alice's opinion. Why did someone who constantly complained about his decision in helping stop the bandits instead of immediately going to Sentora face turn and demand to take a detour? It didn't make any sense for the boy.

"Happiness Village now." The Monster Lord repeated it would have seemed childish were it not for the complete dead serious tone she took on.

"If you're going to waste my time trying to help everyone down, to the last child who lost their doll, might as well make yourself more useful and go to Happiness Village, let me have a bit of their famed honey while we are there. It would be beneficial for both of us." Alice glanced at the opened gates, a determination never seen before brewing in her eyes.

"That sounds good, you did mutually agree on this journey so follow through with her deal." Luther chimed in. "I can wait a while longer before we go to Sentora."

"Chumimi~in" Tusk jumped in excitement, a perfect opportunity to steer them away from the mainland and buy more time appeared and Luther took it, nothing too deceitful, just a small agreement to push things along. It was mutually beneficial; he had more time to think while Luka needed more time to train and get stronger, which he so desperately needed if either of them wanted to survive.

"See even Luther agrees with me." Alice proclaimed victory like a child letting out a fake boisterous laugh.

"I'm good with that. Happiness Village, here we go!" Luka beamed, to have them all agree on a decision was truly a wondrous moment that meant no arguing or constant complaining from Alice and it seemingly gave Luther more life in that cold frown. He hoped this happened more often, simply for the sake of his sanity and his friendship with them.

As they passed the gate into the mountainous wilderness and the troubled village awaited them Luka remembered his last private conversation with the older man, he took each step a little stronger than before.

* * *

Tress upon trees they passed by into a grassy semi-hilly landscape that quickly became familiar to them, a stroll in the wooded path, wind rustling and calmly disturbing the overgrown fauna that flew its flowery and sappy scents into his nose. Luther could almost call it therapeutic…almost if it wasn't for the various thoughts, problems that haunted him. From basic anxiety that came with being in an alien world, to more recent events that left less than a tasteful outlook on the future. He glanced around like a hyperactive child looking for any distraction, an interesting conversation, a sudden disturbance, the man wouldn't even mind if a Monster appeared before his group if it meant he would have some reprieve from his stressed mind. At least Tusk, the most amazing companion he could ask for to accompany him on this journey, knew when to give him space.

 _Right…another problem to deal with. How do I even begin to unravel this mess…_ Through sheer coincidence Chambers made the mistake of making his gaze linger on his friend's sword – the sealing blade Angel Halo, which somehow despite its broad size rested neatly in its sheath. He remembered it, how couldn't he? In a stroke of his bad luck, the blade turned out to be alive and _suffering_ in its sealed state and he was the only contact they had seen in centuries. In hindsight he should have considered it true sooner, he didn't need a first-hand introduction.

 _So many years alone, trapped with no hope of escape or sweet release by none other than their own sibling, the greatest of their peers…obliviously used as nothing more than a tool, and then discarded awaiting use again in canon._ A fate possibly worse than death, he wagered. The man knew what it meant to be alone in his large period of isolation, it wasn't literal, but it sure as held the same feeling. He couldn't imagine spending any longer than a few years at most in such a state, this was something that needed changing. What shreds of decency left in his consciousness screamed for him to fix this.

 _Perhaps whatever fate that befell them was deserved, maybe Lucifina had a good reason for doing this atrocity to them besides a practical one. Angels aren't as good as they'd like you to believe in this world, truly no different than Monsters, they don't deserve your pit-…no…stop, don't. SHUT UP!_ The stand user growled in self-disgust, whatever crimes they may have committed it didn't matter to the man, they already paid for it with their punishment enough. Mending was needed. He could heal them, with Hamon. The logistics of which he cared not to question, it simply had a calming and charming property to Monsters and possibly angels. If not to free them, then he could at least ease their pain with his company and his technique. Problem was…

 _They probably hate me…I don't blame them._ He was scared of facing them again; they nearly tore him apart the first time they met. The only contact they had left them, it would no surprise if they responded with hostility upon greeting them. He would too. To be abandoned by your fellows only to meet them again wasn't anything new to him; his hatred for them grew afterward only to be drowned out by hope and desperation to rekindle his friendship. Those angels did not have this. And what would he even tell them? That she should suffer a bit longer…for the sake of a world they probably don't care about.

Luther restrained the urge to slam his head against a tree and scream out to the whole wide world about all of its injustice, but his current company made it hard for him to do exactly that. It did grant him an idea to eavesdrop on their current conversation; it would only be respectful if he at least provided some opinion on matters.

"By the way… do you know why it is called Happiness Village?" Alice already knew the answer, she was the one that brought a world travel guide with her after all, it was only a matter of testing Luka's knowledge (and potentially insult him) to keep herself entertained.

"Is it because they're all happy…?" The boy guessed and shrugged, in his training, he hadn't wondered a lot about the other villages residing in the same continent nor did he have much opportunity to do so given the only books he got his hands on were in the temples, not much of them had information on minor trivia.

"You're an idiot. The name is derived from the nearby Harpy Village." Alice corrected, shaking her head at her fellow traveler's lack of knowledge of the very continent he resided in.

"That implies the village has been there for a long time, what's a Monster settlement doing in here and for such a long time? I thought Iliasburg was known for its anti-Monster sentiment, how could it exist out in the open?" Luther interjected, his tone being of strange desperation, his movements shaky. Another question to preoccupy his mind and push out all the awful out was deeply desired for the man

"You're half correct in your assessment. This continent was the last one to be settled by Monsters. Humans have lived here in peace for a long time with no one else contesting it, villages, towns came and went. Due to some accessibility issues and the pure zealotry of Humans, Monsters were hesitant in traveling there, but fervor faded and migrations began occurring once people realized how soft and weak the human populace had become. The harpies are no different from the other Monster settlements that settled here, despite that anti-Monster sentiment it's safer, because of the lack of manpower your towns have. Though comparatively there are still not many Monsters here." She studiously explained, as a ruler, it would have been shameful if she had no education on the history of her own subjects. It was a necessity, to fulfill that requirement of skill and knowledge that came with being a Monster Lord

"So even if the village's location is known, there is actually no threat that can be posed to them." Luther summarized, glad about another subject to keep him company. He always found pondering history fascinating. There were so many factors to consider.

"Exactly, besides that most heroes can't match up to queen level Monsters, they often end up being leaders or guardians of these settlements." Alice confirmed his summarization with a smug expression.

"I'm just glad there aren't many Monsters on Ilias, less likelihood of fighting someone." Luka concluded, relaxing ever so slightly at the explanation, although his monstrous companion's wicked grin he wouldn't have this peace and comfort

"Enjoy this while it lasts, Bully Hero, many stronger beings are waiting in Sentora, hungry for your semen. "

"Uhh…" The fake hero groaned out, it was already hard enough to acknowledge the fact that there were more powerful Monsters hungry for his essence in the other continents but to be reminded of that Ilias forsaken title was another matter in its entirety.

"It'll be fine, you'll just have to get stronger and if it ends up being too much I'll help." Luckily Luka had some reassurance from Luther to balance out the unending "torment" in the form of teasing or discouragement that Alice would most likely be subject to and he was ultimately thankful for friendly company.

"You keep motivating him. Quite caring, aren't you?" The Monster Lord sarcastically remarked, her eyes brimming mischievous suspicion. "Caring enough to encourage an innocent child to fight Monsters that are stronger than him for your own selfish goals."

"Because that's something he desires and I'm going to support his decision as thanks for helping me, it's simple as that…with the training, you keep giving him while at the same time insinuating to him to turn back, isn't that a bit contradictory?" They both shared the same challenging glare, with Luther being less included to participate in this sudden contest.

"At least I'm more thoughtful about his safety, it would be for the best if he did stop with this mindless idealism…but if this fake hero wants to continue his little charade then so be it, might as well make it more entertaining." Alice replied, playful venom dripping down her tone.

"Both of you stop, please…" Luka watched, his imagination manifested figurative sparks of tension that flew toward one another. After a hectic moment, they complied, turning away from each other as the boy heaved a sigh of relief.

 _What the hell was that about?_ Luther brushed off his little 'argument' with Alice, he found it easier to focus on his surroundings and enjoy the beauty of nature with the feeling of doom looming over him in far enough distance for it to not be an issue. His sixth did its work, alerting him to wildlife that surrounded them and…

"Chu." Through his stand's confirmation, he felt it, an energy signature much larger approaching them as he heard the faint sound of insect wings rapidly flapping. His prayer for salvation from his self-imposed torment and anxiety was answered as much as it was inconvenient now as if the universe itself granted him a monkey paw without him even knowing, at this point, he could accept and complain about it later. Luther saw how Alice slightly hesitated in moving forward, her long sharp ears twitching from the faraway buzzing noise. She suspiciously caught his glance for a bit before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, after a few long seconds in a small glimmer of dark purple sparks she vanished before the man's eyes.

"Oh, is Alice gone…? I swear this is the sixth time this day we meet another Monster, right?"Luka shook his head refusing to take attention off the dirt road as he kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, his eyes narrowed once his hearing caught up to the faint buzzing heading toward them. The sweet scent of honey filled the air.

"Yes, very likely. Get ready." The older man suggested. His steel balls, which were already spinning just within a finger's reach, though much to his dismay his travel partner's stance remained unchanged, still refusing to draw out his weapon.

"I am ready, though are you sure you want to be here? She might just attack you if we fight." Luka said with a concerned look on his face, an act which seemed a little strange given the time they spent together, it should have been clear for the boy that his older companion was more than capable of handling any danger.

"Why not? I promised I would help." Luther responded, a slight feeling of disbelief resounded through his tone of voice as Luka cautiously checked his surroundings once more.

"…If… it ever becomes too much for me, that's what you said…I need to fight on my own a bit more, it would also be much easier to surprise if you hide… "Luka countenance became one of pleading, for a chance to continue proving himself, his bright blue eyes shined with innocent light and Chambers couldn't help but stare into them in recognition. Buzzing noise approached them even closer, they could see the thin outline of a flying monster creature farther away from them, but unrelenting in her pursuit. A large oval shape, much larger, seemed connected to her body; it had many intersecting openings that dropped out a thick liquid as she flew. Her wings on her back appeared too small and thin for them to have enough lifting strength to let her fly like this.

Luther was stuck in a now or never situation, he could stay and disregard his friend's wishes and possibly risk getting sexually assaulted if he didn't want to reveal any more of his capabilities or he could comply saving him any painful disappointment from Luka and sneak away comfortably.

The man steadily nodded to his compatriot, offering to relieve him of his travel bag's burden before combat. He dashed into the nearby plant life for cover, thorns on the bushes lightly digging into his coat and jeans almost like nature tried entangling him to stay, he partly agreed with it but carried on until he was left crouching behind the bark of a tree, he could still clearly see Luka with their latest arrival coming in after his departure, however, Luther's spot remained out sight for both them, veiled by thick fauna only his footsteps in disturbed wet moss.

_Common sense tells me this is for the best, besides the guy has puppy eyes that don't think anyone can say no to…except maybe Alice on a bad day._

* * *

_Here we go…hope this can be solved quickly and peacefully._ Luka took one last glimpse to where Luther ran off and focused his breathing, becoming a calm rhythmic tempo calling him to a heroic battle as he faced his potential adversary, his hand tugged on the handle of his blade pulling it up and letting drop back into the sheath.

"Fufu…an unbaptized traveler, you look delicious." She was a bee girl Monster, who like most towered over the small hero, her wings created an annoying buzz as they rapidly fluttered becoming an invisible blur to the simple eye. The oval shape connected to her bottom appeared to be some large bee nest that leaked out an impressive amount of honey. She used her extra pair of appendages that were covered in brown chitin with small tufts of yellow fur at the joint, to scoop up some of the sugary syrup and lick it seductively in front of Luka. Her abdomen was covered in a soft thin layer of yellow fur, and her pale chest and arms remained uncovered apart from small scraps of chartreuse-colored fluff decorating her neck like a large collar and short sleeves, which matched her helmet-shaped hair. Two antennae protruding from her forehead jumped up and down to the erratic movement of her floating.

"Left all alone here, don't worry I'll keep you company…" She said in a sultry voice inching just a bit closer to the boy.

"Now wait, can't we talk this out and go about our day?" He took two steps back, raising his hands up to his chest in a non-aggressive manner, she chortled at his venture for peace. Her theatrical chuckling, her smug and ravenous demeanor reflected in body language slowly diminished the possibility of a smooth resolution within Luka's mind; it took a considerable amount of hope to not just groan and wipe out Angel Halo.

"Hmm…if you are willing we can do this quick and easy, no struggle at all, and I _might_ let you go. It would be better, don't you think~?" The Monster offered, spreading a good amount of her honey on her chest. Several thick strings of sweet sticky confection stuck into a particular inviting mesh on her body as she massaged her breasts presenting them for the boy, licking some of it off. "I'll even let you taste my honey…though it's missing a little something to be perfect, I'm sure you'd be willing to give to me~"

 _It's not what I mean, oh dear Ilias what I have gotten myself into, the scent, the thick texture…it would be so easy to just start lick-...no snap out of it_ , _This is dangerous._ Luka's face flushed a deep red as she stared at her rock-solid nipples. None of his affected senses helped him resist temptation, but his will remained steel hard, despite the pitched tent in his pants. He had an important adventure to attempt to and his belief's tenants to uphold.

"I won't do this. Ilias doesn't allow intercourse between Monsters." Luka's succinct response only got a dissatisfied scoff from the bee girl redoubling his tension.

"How disappointing, I covered myself in honey just for you. Guess I'll have to force you to pay me back." The flapping of her wings intensified, her antennae twitching became more irritated as her seductive stance became more threatening, she looked like she was about to attack

 _Remember…no hesitation. Start with a demon decapitation to close the distance._ With a heavy exhalation, he drew out his accursed prison blade making his new opponent hesitate a little at the sight of it, which was absolutely perfect for him if he let himself be honest for just a moment. Turns out having a terrifying weapon on hand is always useful in scaring your enemies. The fake hero dropped down to a predatory stance, like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey, he had done this numerous times already both in combat and in training. It granted him focus unlike any other, like time in his surroundings became frozen and there were only him and his target left.

Luka leaped towards the bee girl slicing at her neck like the technique intent, his sudden burst of speed and attack left her too shocked to respond properly as she nearly fell, her insect wings unable to keep up with the force. He landed not too far away from with a fierce glint in his eyes.

 _Still disoriented…_ He quickly observed. _Follow it up with another attack, more step closer to victory._

"Take this is…" The fake hero swung Angel Halo at the Monster's honey-covered side when she was turning around to him, the blade cleaning swiping through despite the sticky liquid, her appendages seizing and twitching from the unexpected null of her energy. He dashed in for a third strike aiming at her head but hit the air instead.

"Why…you…" The bee girl seethed which sounded a bit more of a tired groan. "We are skipping foreplay then."

 _Oh no, I should have expected that._ Luka stared flabbergasted as she found the strength to fly far above him as if taunting him for his own lack of ability to do so, any thoughts about an easy fight faded away at the reveal of her skill. _But she is close to being sealed, I'm sure of it._

Luther silently observed the battle cringing away from the Monster's attempt at seducing him, his allies' capability to quickly respond to aggression gaining the opportunity to strike first was certainly an improvement from his more distracted state of mind in the boy's previous battles. What was impressive was Luka capability to take advantage of the blade's effect, the lack of power could leave them wide open

You have _taken in my lesson in great regard, good. He will need them._ The man steadily nodded to himself, tusk manifesting behind him to demonstrate its approval with cute cheering that sadly nobody else but its user could hear. A strange and abrupt feeling that he was being watched shocked him through his soul, he turned to the sudden soul and gentle tap on his shoulder that appeared behind him and came face to face with a familiar Monster lord.

"Finally decided to hide and watch, just like me?" They stared at each other in silence, a couple of seconds passed between them Alice's signature feature – a demeaning smirk returning moments after. "Are you going to coddle this Monster as well after she gets slammed into a tree?"

"No, it was only I onetime happening…she just was a child that got hurt, that's all." He responded coldly narrowing his face into a cautious glare. He didn't let any of his uncomfortableness from their proximity slip by him. She was too close, did she enjoy tormenting everyone like this, or was there a personal vendetta against him and his friend? Tusk didn't help this matter all with it jumping back in distress inside of his coat, an accurate reflection of his own emotional state.

"Hmm…I suppose it would be a bit too ridiculous for you to suddenly jump in to lick her wounds…but oh how good you are at that, would never expect it from someone who constantly is as emoting as a stone wall, even now remaining unmoving." She lightly knocked on his chest like she expected to hear an echo from a hollow shell, her amused expression turning solemn once he shuffled away from her. Alice averted her gaze to Luka's battle.

"He's changed, hasn't he…? That fighting style is much more befitting of a cursed sword technique user." She remarked, traces of pride and satisfaction left her face as she watched Luka deliver a second blow

"It'd take a blind man not to notice, it seems he finally realized Angel Halo's potential." Chambers gulped and hope she wouldn't catch on to anything too out of the ordinary, having her find out about him secretly training Luka would only make him more shifty and untrustworthy in her eyes not that he already wasn't secretive, but having one more person potentially intruding in his nightly ventures was unpleasant. He had enough good nightly company with Luka that he wouldn't mind continuing.

"A little too much realization, but not enough skill." She sighed at the sight before her eyes, one of Luka trying upward slash to Monster. "Cursed Sword Art relies on aggressive rapid pace attacks meant to quickly and efficiently overpower your opponent, many of its techniques are gap closers as well, but…it heavily relies on a Monster's natural strengths to accomplish that."

"But he is not a Monster…" Luther finished, of course, Luka was still the half-angel hybrid, which gave him power even if it was sealed, but the man had no need to mention that unless he risked getting killed by Ilias for knowing forbidden knowledge. The bee girl employed evasive maneuvers goading the boy into blindly attacking, perhaps this was just his pessimistic mind, but it all seemed predictable, that somehow Luka will leave a large enough opening.

"And so he can never be too aggressive with it unless he wants to tire out in the middle of combat or make a critical mistake." She concluded as they both watched from a concealed view their companion get straddled to the ground with such strength that Angel Halo dropped out his hand, along with the raining honey from her disturbed hive.

Luther started in dread and worry as he heard Luka's opponent say something and push Angel Halo further away from the struggling Luka while her other appendages helped hold down his body.

"His only means of defense is out of any possible reach, unless he gets her off there is no chance for him to win…" She pointed out carefully gauging Luther's nervous reaction. "If you want to help him be my guest, or are going to stay here and wait?"

Luther couldn't give a clear answer as he witnessed his nails spinning once again, part of him wanted to postpone his potential ambush to see if his friend could truly prove himself and partly for his reluctance in fighting the Monster himself, and a part of him wanting to calm his worries. Luka had Angel Halo - he had an excuse to fight to his fullest extent, but Luther could barely hold back with his skill set without it being lethal if he were to do anything it might end in unfortunate consequences for both of them.

"It's not fear that's stopping you, no. You're powerful enough to take a blow from a Heavenly Knight with a palm of your hand and survive, that 'Spin', that 'Hamon'…you're surely stronger than most of the Monsters on this continent." She paused looking back again at the struggling hero. "The time to decide is quickly ticking. While you're wondering what to do your friend here is going raped, I may have the quality of being a simple observer but you don't….you will be forced to fight."

"I trust Luka will have a way out of this. I'll help him when I see fit." Was his only response as he consciously ceased the rotation of his fingernails, after his conversion he fully realized he couldn't constantly keep saving the boy from danger. Luka needed to grow and Luther had seen him previously break out holds such as this and all the fake hero needed was one more hit with the cursed blade and the Monster would turn into a simple bee, besides his clothes remained untouched yet.

He couldn't ruin the boy's chance at an independent victory for him and for the boy's sake, yet in spite of his decision to not intervene his hands remained on his throwing instrument. _Just in case._

* * *

 _This is bad…very bad, Angel Halo is too far away…_ Luka lied on the ground, straddled by his now haughty opponent. He had the critical mistake of leaving a wide opening for her charge and pushed him down, two of her extra appendages dug into the earth near his head, she loomed over the boy honey dripping down from her breast and onto his face as she grinded on his lap. He looked to his left where Angel Halo was thrown to the side, if he could just nudge himself a little bit closer to it he would win.

The fake hero nudged his body to the side occasionally attempting to kick the bee girl back, his cheek pushing against one of her bee legs as his left arm stretched out to grab the sword's hilt. _Just a little more and I'll finish this..._

Much to his surprise the Monster suddenly pressed down on the arm before it could stretch further as the very tip of his fingers were left a good foot away from the black hilt of the sealing blade, she smirked at his fruitless attempt, though appearing winded from the lack energy running in her system. She resolved to fix this issue soon enough.

"How troublesome, strong for a human…" She panted letting her hot breath tickle his face and neck as she leaned in to whisper being amused by his body's reaction to her subtle teasing. "Let's just skip the foreplay shall we…? You'll make a fine mate once I take you back."

"No, I can't lose, not now." He muttered, writhing against her every touch with what little of his body he had left free from her hold. She chuckled at his resistance letting his left arm go to lightly brush against his cheek as if comforting him while the other started taking off his pants.

"Oh, don't you worry~ our days will be filled with everlasting pleasure, we will have some many wonderful children together…" She faux consoled him, giving him a quick peck and lick on the cheek. The kind and intimate gesture made his flush even redder, his build quivering as he continued reaching for the unique weapon.

 _It…it's in my hand, was it closer than I thought?_ Luka blinked in bewilderment as his fingers wrapped around the handle carefully playing with it as if checking whether are not his senses were deceiving him. He expected to get his hands on it with a lot more of a brawl for dominance in all honesty, but all of that didn't matter. Whatever speculation the boy had was thrown to the wayside, more important issues need to be dealt with.

He groaned and frowned from the feeling of him rubbing against her wet entrance, much to his luck he had more than enough stamina left in him to deal the sealing blow to his confident enemy who was too absorbed in feeling him up and enjoying herself to notice that had rearmed himself.

"This is the end." He stated to himself, noticing she had left her guard down completely. A wide-open arc was available for him to attack with enough force to vanquish her into her sealed fate. His statement appeared to puzzle his sultry adversary.

"What are you-ah! "Barely catching the glimpse of a black blur that cut through her form she felt the last of her energy vanish before she could finish her question. The Monster body lacked any power to keep stable and so dissipated into the air leaving a common house bee in her stead, which hectically flew around in dismay.

"Finally it's over, thank Ilias…nearly thought I was done for." Luka exclaimed in relief at his aggressor's 'end', yet he didn't come unscathed from the confrontation, he was sure a small of his dignity had faded at sight and sensation of his stained clothes and body, his naked crotch disturbed by the free cold breeze flowing through it. He pulled his trousers back on and laid his head back down letting his body rest as he waited for his companions to show up, the only thing keeping him company was Angel Halo.

Luka heard the cracking of sticks and audible footsteps against wet moss making him turn to the noise and see Luther emerge from the back of a tree with Alice steadily in tow, the man's expression appeared brighter than usual as he towered over the boy's laying form. _Truly a sight for a sore mind._

"Strike when she least expected it, brilliant, good job." Luther offered him an arm for the support that Luka gladly took, sharing in the positivity that his friend displaced. It was a feat anybody would have been proud of- to make his constantly stone-faced friend show even the slightest of signs of a smile was truly a special experience.

"There's some honey covering you there, and there…well you're practically drenched in it." Luther patted the boy on the back sheepishly pointing to his friend's stained clothing. He handed back Luka's large travel bag with some amount of pity for the experienced misfortune.

"It's nothing, I'll clean out eventually." Luka popped his backpack back on his shoulders

"That change to your fighting style…" The fake hero nervously looked up to his monstrous companion. "Can't decide whether you want to be overly aggressive or overly defensive, still you dipped your toes in unfamiliar waters and fought the way you're meant to with the Cursed Sword Art, good."

"But." The Monster Lord continued, Luka already suspected that she had something more awful to interject with. "You're too sloppy at dodging to even begin making up for that lack of defense, it's clear we still have much to do, at least you showed me you have clear potential to improve. "

"Ah…thank you." Luka nodded, he didn't expect her words to be more than just offhand insults that he wasn't looking forward to. In the end, he was thankful for the well-deserved criticism and training she continued to offer, so he gave her credit where credit is due.

"You're welcome _."_ She said pleased with his response, showing a sight that stunned the young hero.

 _Wait, is that a genuine smile from her…?_ The boy stared at her wide-eyed at her pure bright countenance that wasn't just a smug grin a wicked smirk she flashed just before teasing him, it was cute…nearly made him forget about her manifested image of a merciless tormentor for a moment, replaced by a decent beautiful girl.

"What are gawking at? Creepy…" And like that the beautiful spectacle turned into a suspicious frown, depriving him of gratification, it seemed Luther was also uneasy at his weird interaction.

"Oh, n-nothing…something crossed my mind, that's all." His cheeks flushed from embarrassment as he shook his head, the awkward atmosphere only barely disappeared with his clarification.

"Well, you can think about it as we get going unless your numbskull isn't capable of multitasking." She scoffed and turned away heading towards their destined location in a classic Alice fashion leaving them only to follow in delicate silence.

Luka looked at Angel Halo as he wondered, observing its features, the eldritch blade, like always appeared something out of this world, it was hard for him to glance at without wincing from its features - the melted angels, the material and faint presences it permeated. Nothing pleasant came to mind when he thought about it with the exception of its unique powers that have so far helped carry him through the continent. He had made a personal record of the time he could endure looking at it, one of its red eyes even blinked under his careful gaze, whatever it seemed alive...if he could wholeheartedly believe a weapon can be alive and sentient.

That seemed ridiculous and yet... _I felt it, my hand didn't grab the hilt, I felt it moved into my hand…Angel Halo. Is it alive? Can it see and hear us? With the power it already possesses, I wouldn't doubt if it could._

Luka held it out before him, staring deeply at its crooked shape. _You're very special, aren't you? Even Luther was interested in you, regardless I'm thankful for your aid...whatever you are._

"Hey, Luka, what are you waiting for? We have a village to save." The fake hero faintly heard his friend call out. As broke focus from his weapon to see Alice and Luther had already moved up quite a distance without him. He put Angel Halo back into its sheath and followed after them with heavy anticipation for the future in his heart.

"Don't worry, I'm coming!"

* * *

**Three days ago.**

**? POV**

_No time, I have no time…my chances of success are improbable._ A lab coat wearing figure paced around the isolated room, one handheld a file folder the other mug of coffee, her shoes tapping against the metal floor stepping across some of the wires that connected to a myriad of screens – the only light source illuminating the dark laboratory. It so happened to be that light sources mocked her sluggishness of research. Her red eyes scanned across the screens stopping at the point that most struck her heart, a piece of information she wouldn't dare let any of her colleagues see.

**!WARNING! CHAOS INTRUSION PROGRESS 99%!WARNING!**

_Damn it all!_ The scientist slammed her folder onto the table that the computer screen was standing on. She was too slow, now all of her entire life's work, her research, her goals that went beyond the goddesses of this world would be for nothing, erased by an uncaring force of the multiverse as all the others around them all because she wasn't fast enough. Another display showed a red dot with a blue circle around it surrounded by a background of constantly shifting colors which moved closer -the energy digging into walls of the universe, so close to entering and consuming it.

"I must stabilize my breathing, there is no use in having a panic attack" The scientist gripped her chest as her breathing became conscious. Chaos had enclosed around their world a long time ago slowly encroaching it – the most terrifying discovery in her observations outside her universe. This hidden part of her laboratory was a testament to it, an observation room to monitor this devouring primordial soup.

At first, it was meant to be a simple study outside of her world, after all, to find the secrets of the universe including its origin one must sometimes look outside, but she stepped into realms possibly beyond her with new knowledge that she and the rest of life's days were inevitably numbered, this was but a painful reminders of this fact. She took a long sip from her cup, the liquid no longer possessing any taste in it.

 _No…there is still hope, I'll just have to skip the testing phase of the serum, even if it might prove fatal. Either way I am dead, but there is still a way to increase my chances of survival, devouring Ilias and Alice VIII should give me enough power to repel it, those fools know nothing._ Despite her resolution, her hands were left shaking as she turned to leave. Before the scientist could even input a code into the secret door's keypad she heard loud beeping, an indicator.

Her eyes widened in shock at the data, she quickly rushed over to the observation deck writing a series of commands into the computer. "The spreading has stopped, but how?"

Any Chaos's movement into the world was halted struggling to press further in as if held back by a strange barrier that layered itself over. The scientist ran a diagnosis of her devices to confirm if she was receiving any faulty readings, which was not the case. She observed in intense curiosity as the inter-universal struggle evolved, spiral and rotational scars developed into the fabric of reality as the two foreign energy sources with no will to guide fought one another. One's chaotic patterns she was already regrettably familiar, the very thing that mocked the scientist for nearly the entirety of her existence, the other…

The other energy source had orderly and harmonious movement in a tight mesh of strings connected continuously increasing and transferring energy in peculiar vibrations as it reinforced the fabric of reality. She flipped several unassigned switches changing information being relayed to her, revealing another interesting discovery. "Readings would indicate the energy output is…infinite…"

**!WARNING! UNKNOWN ENTRANCE DETECTED!WARNING!**

"What is…" She looked back to another monitor which showed the mysterious anomaly rammed into the inner walls of the universe, puncturing it imparting a small part of its rotation into their world and launching them far away from the nearby chaos into empty and void space.

"It moved us, but that isn't logistically possible!" Yet the data was there, her universe was no longer under threat of being consumed, the chromatic background of the radar turned into a calming black as both forces vanished from possible detection with the exception of a small trace left from their savior. She hectically changed feeds to track down its location, in a moment all of the screens violently flashed calculating the rough prediction of its movement revealing that it would land on their planet. The machinery was unstable, before she could even begin noting down the coordinates it erupted in a series of sparks leaving her in a dark room.

Holy light shined from her hand, as her shoulders slumped down and she breathed a sigh of relief, her monotonous countenance soon turned to a smirk.

"Interesting…very interesting."

* * *

**Luther's notes: Ilias Continent**

**The so-called Ilias continent, one of the last landmasses to be settled by this world's Humanity, and with that the Monsterkind followed suit as well. It appears where there is prey there will also be predator…interestingly enough my digging of the history of this continent I came across records dictating that there was of a period of time where there were little to no monsters inhabiting the continent despite the presence of Humans which given the zealotry and belief that Humanity displayed in Ilias was quite a blessing for them, it is reflected by the many named landmarks, villages, and towns that bear the likeness of the Goddess's name it is also the reason why Ilias Temple is the largest worship grounds dedicated to Ilias besides San Ilia, which architecture seems to be based on Classicism building style.**

**Faith in the Light Goddess remained comparably strong there, though it was still subject of fading away albeit a lot more slowly compared to the mainland given some of its periods of isolation that occurred after Monster raids or migrations, which happened very rarely as it was more prominent for small groups or individuals to travel. As a result of the lack of monsters and other clear opposition, the people here grown lax in terms of military power often lacking any organized force besides the city guards and troops, however, is made up by the influx of armed pilgrims seeking to be officially proclaimed heroes that traveled through it warding off a large part of wandering threats the inhabitants may have.**

**Besides the few villages and small towns, some even unnamed, littering the main landscape. There are a few places worth mentioning within the continent either regarding their produce, tourism, settlement size, population, and density. The first ones that come to mind are of course are Iliasport - the only exit and entrance for normal humans that this landmass possesses, Iliasburg - the central city and practically capital of Ilias, containing the largest population of the continent, Happiness Village – a village known worldwide for their production of their Honey.**

**Strangely the architecture styles seem to vary, and not even from town to town, one could find differences in the same place from some buildings that look like they've come from the early Medieval centuries to the Gothic architecture of the XII century and on rare occasions XVIII Baroque architecture, the sheer possibility of these styles blending together in the shape of cities still both amazes me and confuses me to a great extent.**

**Alongside that, there are also non-human settlements, the largest of which is the Harpy village situated very nearby the previously mentioned Happiness Village, of course, the obvious occurred between the two Monster and Human communities. And Enrika village, a community mostly comprised of elves, was also known to be one of the few safe havens created for monsters back then, they were secluded, only interacting when it came to trading, but recently with the world-shaking events that happened they opened up even accepting angels among their community.**

**There are other monster communities that are more hidden throughout the farther reaches of the landmass, but they're too small to be considered noteworthy such as small packs of bestial Monsters. I cannot go into any further and not because of their elusiveness, but simply because I don't have the time, nor do I have any reason to go seek these little groups out as for the most part they stayed out of trouble…**

**Relations between Monster, Human, and Angel are awkward as the glory of the victory against the Goddess of Light started to fade from the hearts of the people and they started to go about their daily lives again, albeit in a new environment and under different circumstances. This will likely remain for a while until the next generation takes over, although currently, it is much better than the previous tension and potential aggression that Humanity and Monsterkind had toward each other.**

**For this world's sake, I hope this process goes about as smoothly as possible and the mistakes of the past are not repeated.**


	10. Length

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "A moment of valor shines brightest against the backdrop of despair." - Darkest Dungeons.

Luther much like always, silently walked in tow of his group admiring the pleasant change in scenery. As beautiful and meditative as it was, going through miles and miles of the same woody dirt path surrounded by nothing but trees, rocks, and the occasional water source ever so slowly got dull, but the probable threat of monsters kept him on toes. Anxiety and fear mixed with boredom – a dangerous combination that brought dangerous desperation. Soon enough the occasional man-made object like fences, houses, and the many beehives arranged neatly popped up in view drawing out his attention. It was a wonderful contrast to wildlands, yet something was missing.

The outer reaches of the village seemed awfully vacant, even in the regular working hours, not a single soul in sight, creating an eerie atmosphere for the most part. Luka took this a bit worse than his older companion – suspecting a possible ghost town, that they were too late, while Alice narrowed her eyes and then nodded in understanding. Thankfully for all of them, this changed once they ventured further in, locals sweating tended to beehives and fields. Some paid no mind to them, others stared with great interest.

 _The place looks better than Ilias Village, though a bit empty._ Chambers mused, glancing around the stable. Though architecture that appeared to have great care put into them, he considered the higher quality was there because they were a well-known exporter, there were a lot of benefits that came with having luxury food.

"We're finally here…Happiness village." Luka declared, flooded with relief at the sight of people, the grip on his sword handle loosening.

"And with no other distractions along the way." Alice added an extreme hint of hunger for cuisine, hanging off her voice.

"Strange, it doesn't look like anything horrible is happening, from the way it was described I expected the village to be off." The fake hero casually shrugged, from all of its descriptions he had expected a place crawling with Monsters, not a small peaceful town carrying on with its lucrative business.

"Are you blind? Can't you see something wrong, idiot?" She lightly gestured all around the settlement. The boy scanned through once more trying to find any detail that stuck out as he went into an alert state once he noticed.

"Oh…OH! There are only women here, except for that one little kid…" In hindsight, may he shouldn't have pointed as his target soon turned to look at him, it was awkward but that didn't change anything. It all made sense with the account given by the inn owner, there were no men around, possibly taken by the monsters from the nearby village.

"Yes, I was hoping you'll notice it soon," Luther muttered under his breath, such lack of attentiveness. He couldn't blame it as a simple detail anyone could justify for a variety of different reasons, but the older man ultimately knew the truth, a truth they would have to deal with.

"Little boy…" The Monster Lord chuckled. "Not any different yourself, you know."

To demonstrate her point she put her hand on top of his head measuring him up to her abdomen with an amused expression on her countenance. Luka slumped his shoulders and pouted, his face turning a tomato bright red, even Chambers, a trusted companion mildly laughed at his expense, only to be increased at the betrayed look he got.

"Hey! Stop…I'm not that small…" Luka objected before maliciously whispering to himself. "Where is that damned growth spurt when you need it?"

"Oh? Travelers, three of them at once. We don't get a lot of visitors lately…" The hearty group was approached by one of the locals, having gathered enough attention either through their friendly theatrics or through simply their mish-mashed appearance, all of them seemed to stand out wherever they went. The unique identities surrounding each traveler didn't help this either, but as they straightened themselves upon realizing they were being watched.

"You came all the way here, but we don't have anything to entertain a traveler with, and due to shortage of manpower we also have a shortage of our specialty happiness honey, too…" She explained, the mere mention of their honey shortage seemed to crush the purple lamia's spirit as her light grin slowly faded, replaced by a disappointed hard frown while travel mates remained unaffected.

"Why exactly is there a shortage of manpower?" The fake hero asked, as much as the answer was obvious to his friends around him, he needed to know the exact reason to pinpoint the action he needed to take. But as if fate itself overheard his inquiry, they suddenly heard a loud boyish scream permeate through the settlement which startled the surrounding locals who slowly retreated into their homes in fear as the villager that answered the travelers shook with a guilty expression on her face. Alice winced, her superior hearing taking the brunt of the sonic blow.

"What's going on?" He asked in concern, quickly running to the origin while taking out Angel Halo, leaving a regretful local, a grimaced and annoyed Alice, and a frowning Luther.

 _Right, this scene…not very fun to experience in real life._ The older man closed his hands into fists in distaste running after his young and promising companion to view something he expected, but ultimately hesitant in seeing a harpy grabbing onto a little boy who was crying out for help with her talons attempting to lift him off the ground and fly away. Much to her credit, she appeared adamant about not hurting her prey at all with her sharp ended feet, yet it did not ease him one bit.

"Stop right there, let go of that boy!" Luka confidently commanded, his blade already thirsting after the winged monster's energy. Much to his luck, his companion held the same feelings for the injustice being done.

"Huh? I haven't seen either of you in this village before…are you both travelers?" The harpy in question asked, her eyes sizing Luther and Luka up, brimming with the desire to copulate for her own sake and for the sake of the race. She was a medium build individual, her body no doubt light to enable flight yet not to be underestimated, efficiently mixed brown feathers that made up her body from the wings which its tips were a lighter shade down to her hip and knees that both were fluffy and provided ample enough power to fly.

The winged monster suddenly released the small boy, licking her lips and flashing a teasing grin towards both of the newcomers, besides the fluffy feather her upper body was barely covered by straps of blue cloth connected by red pearly buttons where a gilded blue collar lied above wrapped around the monstrous woman's neck.

"Alright…I'll let the boy go, I'll kidnap you instead! ~ Both of you have such a good scent, can't decide which one.~ " She said in a sing-song voice, flapping her wings and blowing a small gust of wind toward them, neither of the remaining humans reacted, remaining stoic on the outside as best as they could. Luka couldn't help but let his excitement at performing heroic deeds slip through a little and his anxiety regarding the bout

"Go." Chambers told the child whose frightened gaze only pierced his heart filling it with more frustration, the boy complied, running inside a nearby house to take shelter, leaving the older man to continue scowling as his fingers twitched. A part of him was sure he scared the boy, even more, regardless he matters to attend to and as always follow through with his non-official agreement "Well Luka, she's all _yours_. Any trouble and I'll come."

"Right, I'll make sure that doesn't have to happen," Luka whispered, lightly shuffling his thumb on the hilt of his Angel Halo, and responded with a steady blink of what the boy could potentially call reassurance and…hunger, it always looked hungry for him like it was searching for something or someone.

"Decided that by yourself for me, how generous.~" She seductively chuckled as she stared intently at Luka, her voice only beginning to sound more disgusting to Luther's ears with every word uttered from her lips. "Hehehe…you're much nicer than that little boy, I'll take you to my nest and will make lots of little children. Or we can start making them right here? Be a good boy and make a lot of children with me."

 _To think one would be so accepting of molesting a child for the sheer sake of convenience… you make me sick._ Luther growled at the monster, opting to prepare his hidden steel balls' rotations promising a world of pain and possible broken bones if she ever dared to attack him. He felt vindictive, nonetheless continued being a passive observer, though his body, specifically his hands twitched at the thought of making his weapon collide with her face.

"Chu…" A familiar presence crept up behind his neck as it let its head fall on his shoulder, its small, barely noticeable appendages thumbing down on his shoulder blades in a rhythmic pattern. Tusk was always there, where Luther was - a calming paragon that he could ask for, no other being reminded him that this was no place to lose his patience and snap.

 _Right, calm yourself. There are worse people out there, than here in this depraved world at least she has an excuse as pathetic as it is…_ The man still didn't let up his deep frown, instead, shoving his hands in his pockets in case the urge gets too strong and he accidentally launches a stray ball at the monster's head. _Even if it takes performing wile acts to prolong your species existence, don't even try doing it to a child. She has wings for goodness sake! Critical Ecstasy is also a factor, why doesn't she just fly to some other settlement and grab some poor fucker from there instead of a little boy whose stones haven't even dropped?_

"I'll get rid of all of you kidnapping monsters." Without warning, Luka immediately dashed towards her with incredible speed, slashing downward to her neck like an improvised guillotine, barely nicking it as she flew high above, playfully circling him.

 _Wings, it's obvious she would fly! Now, where have I seen this before…?_ The boy narrowed his eyes at her taking a more defensive stance, repeating the same mistake again, especially with a more aerially mobile opponent would ultimately prove ruinous. It was still fully in line with what he was taught. He didn't have the advantage, a thing he should always try to regain.

"What, surprised that I can fly? You'll never hit me~. Although I suppose not since you charge right at me…such speed…you'll do nicely as a mate…" She declared, swooping down at him like a bullet only to fly away at his reactive attack, repeating it several times at different angles. "My, so stressed…I can help with that."

 _I'll have to wait until she actually attacks. She's like that bee girl, goading me into making the wrong move._ He observed as the harpy monster rose to the highest he had seen her go into the sky, swearing she could probably reach the clouds if she kept going at that speed. Graceful fall followed after speedy ascent as she dived toward the purple-haired hero, she was almost there, a little more and he would be knocked to the ground, except...

Luka suddenly positioned and thrust his sword in a way that the monster would have impaled herself if she continued her trajectory. Time froze as she widened her eyes in shock at the fast reaction, leaning away to land on the boy's right to avoid his strange and disgusting sword only to be slashed efficiently by him.

 _What…?_ The harpy was the one to be trapped; the boy was waiting for her to fall for it this entire time. No wounds appeared, no blood came either, just a sinking feeling of numbing exhaustion that slowly spread through her body and it had somehow felt worse than if she were to be struck with a normal weapon. _No - how is this human too much for me to handle?_

Her instincts did their job as she landed safely on her bird-like feet despite suffering such a blow, with sullen pride she looked back to see she was far enough to suffer further damage from the strange statue-blade. The monster swallowed a lump in her throat as she spoke. " I- 'll let you get away with this today!"

She flapped her wings as hard as she could to gain altitude, exhaustion be damned, it was not worth getting captured in a human village, shuddering to even think what they would do to her if that ever happened.

"You're not getting away." It was such a simple statement, yet held such seething fury and power behind it coming from someone who hadn't even done anything to her, making her flying even faster away from the village. She saw the hateful stare that scarred man gave her as he gave chase, it wasn't like anything else she had seen from a human and to hear him say this did not bode well for her well-being.

Luther ran after her, unholstering one of his spinning steel balls, letting it glide on his hand and slowing down its rotation with the tip of a thumb to an acceptable amount, as much as he wanted justice, killing would be unnecessary evil that would likely haunt him regardless of the crimes committed. They were beginning near one of the exits of the village as he readied his aiming only having two shots

"Stop chasing me, will you!?" She yelled at him, but that didn't stop his pursuit, thankfully for her, his purple-haired small companion was out of sight.

"No." The man said coldly as he threw the spin powered steel weapon at the harpy girl, it rocketed forward with incredible speed hitting her left wing, it dug into the soft flesh and feathers that failed to stop its momentum in shape or form, her body convulsed against her will, delivering her descent as her screech resounds across the settlement. With what remaining little worse the steel ball had it punctured through her wing leaving a sizable see-through hole and emerging in front of her view mocking her loss and torment

 _My…my wing…no…_ She fell to the ground with a thud, it seemed the last of her strength fled as well, leaving her to blankly stare into the dirt and grass she spectacularly landed in, but vigilance soon returned to her at the sound of her pursuer's footsteps through the thick brush of the wilds. Enduring through pain and numbness she slowly got up, yet it was too late as the man pushed her to grass, holding her hostage with the weight of his star covered body.

"Ah! Let me go you bloody bastard, is my wing not enough?! I'll gut you with my talon!" She screamed into his ears making him flinch, struggling against his stone hold as best as she could, though it felt like every part of her body had worked against her, from her wings and chest to her legs and hip, all refusing to listen to even the barest of survival instincts. Shut down by someone of unknown power. The monster cared not for any of the oddities that the strange man exuded, nor for the favorable position she was in with how close they were.

"Not until you answer for your crimes." He responded with the same venomous voice, wrapping his hands around the waist and hoisting her up, her small weight was easy enough on the man's non-enhanced strength. All the monster saw was red, she tried kicking and screaming her way as he carried her back to the village, not even noticing the small hero she lost to emerge from their direction.

"Luther! Are you alright, why did you run off like that?" Luka asked, some concern finally seeping into the atmosphere, at least for a moment, until he saw his friend carrying him defeated. The boy would have let out a small victorious smile were it not for the noisy circumstances regarding his enemy's capture. "

"Yes, I am fine." Luther calmly answered, his aggressive tone fading for the moment.

"And am not!" His calm response was quickly followed by the ear-piercing complaint of the harpy. Luka glanced at the harpy with more detail and visibly winced as he saw the hole in her wing, feathers falling with each writhing futile movement creating a pleasant path if it wasn't pain that followed it.

"Chu." Tusk stood on Chambers' shoulder, not sure what to make of the situation, but nonetheless chastising its user's impulsive behavior with angry high-pitched noises of its own.

 _It's a worthy punishment if anyone had on hand, even if it does seem a little cruel…now quiet down. I don't need another banshee hounding me._ That was all Luther told his stand as he noticed his companion was about to speak again.

"Don't worry about it, let's get her back, their problems I'm sure the villagers would like to discuss with this particular harpy…" Chambers quickly silenced any words the fake hero could have uttered with an ominous answer. "Oh and can you pick up my steel ball, it's right over there."

"Okay…just make sure she doesn't get harmed again." Luka uttered, going to the direction that Luther pointed in, where a sharp metallic glint could be seen among strands of grass, his eyes remaining stuck on the sizable hole in the harpy's wing slightly disturbed by the fact his comrade paid no mind to the bleeding even if it was mild.

* * *

"I swear I'll rip out your guts when I get out of here!" In the center of the village, a Harpy tied up onto a thick tree stared scornfully with hate-filled eyes at the appearing inhabitants, no longer craven by her previously formidable appearance, if it weren't for the rope she would be clawing out the eyes of each and every one of them, especially the one who crippled her, reduced her to a state where even those cowardly villagers who failed to defend their settlement. The monster was reduced into nothing but an annoyance. She couldn't imagine how heartless a man must be to try to permanently get rid of her flight – a pride of her race, without as much as a second thought and then casually sit down in front of her as if to further salt her wounds.

"Amazing! These travelers managed to capture the harpy." Many more expressions of awe followed surrounding Luther, Luka, and Alice, some of the inhabitant's shared looks of contempt at their attempted kidnapper.

"You have no right to complain about our treatment with what your people have done to us." A woman stepped forward to the screaming feathered monster, looking down at her, the fake hero followed her as his companions remained, still watching the havoc ensue.

"I don't have to answer to any of you!" The harpy responded, making her verbal adversary walk even faster to her. Leaning against one of the houses Luther took deep breaths to calm himself, twitching with background insult he heard all while his monstrous friend observed with an amused expression.

"Woah, hold on a little, let's try to keep it civil." Luka intercepted the woman, stretching out his arms in an attempt to form a human wall, it looked like she was about to say something until being stopped.

"Stand down Mari, there is no point in screaming at the monster, she won't answer you…" An elderly woman much older than any of the other villagers approached, the others scattered away from the harpy, even Mari backed down. Her hair completely grey, run-down by age, her small frame and hunched frame supported by a large cane. "To capture a monster, you and your friend must be pretty skilled"

"Yeah…I suppose so, but ah…who are you?" Luka nervously scratched the back of his head

"I'm the village chief's wife. Because he was kidnapped I am the acting village chief." She explained earning a laugh from the spiteful harpy and a skeptical gaze from the monster lord.

"Barricading yourself in a house even as a child is being abducted? Can you really call yourself a chief like that?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow. She specifically recalled seeing that frail old woman before her retreat back into her home at the sight of the child getting stolen, a clear sign of inaptitude of guardianship for all the women in the town. "Actually, not a single person in this village tried to help."

"She is right! You're all nothing but a town of cowards running from the first sign of danger, can't even protect your own." The rope bound Monster laughed, her supporting words cutting into the hearts of the village women, stunning them into silence.

"Oi, oi! You can't say something like that, you Monsters are stronger than humans, right? How can women who haven't seen a single day of combat ever hope to fight against one." The fake hero brought such a fact to light, temporary silencing

"Right, how can people like us resist them? And that brings us to the matter of my request, a favor if you will…" The elder spoke and paused, seeing how anxiously her fellow women waited for an answer to a question they already knew, a question that has been asked previously of travelers.

"Hahaha, here it comes, Hero. They are going to try to force their problems on you, like on many other so-called 'heroes' " Alice interjected, frustrating the old lady.

"Ha! Are you going to send them out just like the other seven, they were all quickly defeated and caught before they even stepped foot inside our village, I doubt it will end any differently for them as well." The harpy girl flashed a gleeful grin to them, her revelation crushing the spirits of the villagers even further, bringing in the repressed shame of their action to their faces, even the elder stuttered in providing an answer as Luka's usual hopeful countenance turned shocked and slightly sour.

"Seven…that many!?"

"So it was as I suspected… you all hid away when your people were being taken and now you sent outsiders minding their own business to the harpies like lambs to a slaughter…how pathetic and now you're asking for another one to do the same." Alice remarked in disgust, it was one thing if a leader failed to protect their people but it was a completely different matter if said leader also dragged others into their problems leading, such a thing ruined her appetite for anything that could come from the settlement, every part of her just wanted to leave.

"Aren't you being a little harsh? It's a bit unreasonable to expect weak women to suddenly barge and fight harpies." Luka inquired into his monstrous ally's ruthless critique.

"No, they deserve everything I can say about their behavior, truly shameful." Her words had only encouraged the guilty silence of the locals, the fake hero also had no proper response to that.

"I…hmm…" The elder looked stunned from all of the judgment continuing her pause to slowly shuffle to the harpy mocking her village's inability to act. "I intended to question this earlier when I heard of your capture, what has your settlement done to our men. Were they eaten, taken as slaves, can you at least tell me if they're alive for us to know the results of our failure?"

"Yes, what happened to my husband?"

"What about my fourteen-year-old son?" They took their turns bombarding the captive monster with questions who looked progressively more agitated with everyone thrown at her, it was an extremely pitiful and sad sight to bear for the purple-haired boy.

"Stop it already! Do you think we harpies are mindless brutes? Your m-…no I don't think it would be right to call them your men anymore, regardless they were taken in as mates for our village." The harpy's reveal of information shocked the locals to their very core, some were left fuming in anger, others succumbing to despair, and even more blocked her words out either way the monster took pleasure in their reactions.

"Ah, I see…" The elder's cane shook heavily in her unstable hold, she turned to Luka once more." Please, hero, they were taken against their will, without our men the village will slowly cease to exist, wiped off the face of the map, you have to do something about it if you would be willing.

"…Tell me, where did they take all of the men?" After careful consideration he decided to continue with his intent about the doomed village, he did come here for that one reason and their supposed wile actions did not set him off in the slightest. Luka knew what it was – an action bred from pure desperation, the inability to do anything yourself forces you to rely on others for support and he wouldn't be a true hero if he didn't provide that support. His response relieved the old woman.

"Thank you, thank you, dear hero. I do believe there is a settlement to the east of this village, in the forest." She bowed several times in gratitude

"Well, aren't you happy? This fake hero is too easy to influence… You're too trusting. They've sent seven people like you out there already to be raped for the rest of their lives, are you really going to help such a horrible village?" Alice inquired, her face brimming with repugnance, she quietly prayed that her idiot of a travel companion would listen to her advice that wasn't just related to fighting for once.

"We don't have a way to fight though, we're powerless.…" It was the only response the elder gave, looking even more hesitant at speaking to the disguised lamia.

"Even so, you sent seven 'heroes' there already, all of them failed, and you're still going to send one more?" The Monster Lord scoffed her words like steel blades, cutting deep into their souls. "Sure, the harpies may be doing something horrible, but you all aren't that much better."

"…" The elder as well as the rest of the people continued to stay silent, unable to rebuke her words anymore.

"That's enough Alice." Luka said in a commanding tone, however failing to make an impression on her opinion. "I'm still going to Harpy Village."

"Do you really want to be praised by the people of this village that badly? You're going to destroy yourself with that silly wish, you idiot" His monstrous companion responded, though what followed after wasn't as reasonable…or as quiet.

"Are you serious, what kind of moron are you? You'll be caught just like the rest of them if you march in right now and when my village finds out what you did to me you're all dead, do you hear me?!" The harpy monster squealed like a banshee at the top of her lungs, most of the people including Luka and Alice could swear they went deaf for a moment with the Monster Lord having an intense desire to temporarily silence the unruly

" _Chu_ …" Luther could feel a part of his soul die from the ensuing screech, Tusk went into his coat covering its ears way from the verbal equivalent of rape.

 _I know, I know, don't you think I'm suffering as well It's hard to remain calm and collect myself with all of this racket, besides this discussion isn't productive and beneficial for either these locals and the harpies with the way it's going, a lot of them are probably out for blood. Oh…why did I have to catch her, it's more trouble than it's worth…_ Luther lamented, patting tusk on its dark star cowered head making sure he wasn't being seen by anyone. He wagered it was about time he did something and so he stood up.

"It doesn't have to be a complete suicide mission though, as much you and Alice would like to believe that. We just need an exercise in a little bit of strategy." The older man told them, casually strolling to the center of attention.

" **You fuck!** You broke my wing and are still acting like it's nothing, what do you have to say for yourself?" She screamed at him, both Luther's and Alice's hands twitched at the thought of choking her out. The volume being especially cruel to the purple lamia's hearing, nobody was willing to intervene with the small conflict.

"And you tried to kidnap and sexually assault a child, play stupid games and you win stupid prizes. That's just how the world is." Chambers apathetically responded, what he had done did not faze him in the slightest, he had committed the worst acts and this was just retribution, nothing more and nothing less.

"My entire life is ruined, I'll no longer be able to fly, my kin will do nothing but mock or pity me and I won't be able to find a mate at all!" Part of her even wondered whether or not it was even for the best if she managed to come out of the damned town alive, the suffering if she returns

"What about the boy's life, if you succeeded? He is young and has an entire life ahead of him, all of that would be wasted just because you wanted a fuck toy out of somebody who probably doesn't understand what the word 'sex' or 'rape' is." Luther mercilessly reprimanded, he inwardly admitted if it wasn't for his belief in well thought out justice and his previous guilty conscience he would gut the one before him a long time ago.

"He wouldn't just be some 'fuck toy'; he would be my husband, my mate." No matter what she said she dug her grave further into the minds of the people, most of the travelers could see the desire for the harpy's blood in all of their expressions. Luka got closer to the harpy acting like a barrier to any of the locals willing to satisfy their desire.

"Whatever words you use, however you rephrase, it doesn't change how horrible your actions were. " The stand user rebuked, his right leg jumping up and down in rapid succession out of stress. His own personal problems were enough to deal with already; he didn't need another argument caused by his actions.

"You are wrong about your wing as well, the queen in your village should fully be capable of healing it, besides you're a monster, walk it off." Alice curtly chimed in, her words causing another streak of anger to well up inside the harpy's being.

"Oh dear Creator, I'm surrounded by idiots! How will I get to my village when I'm currently captured? You utte-" The harpy girl was interrupted by a brief flash of light, the expression on her face turning from rage-filled to a dull neutral, her eyes looked empty, mindless before closing. Any and all hectic movement stopped, her head fell as the villagers heard light and soft snoring coming from her.

"To think this one would have the gall. Insulting and screaming at your captors is not defiant, just pathetic, one should know when to admit defeat. " Alice scoffed, turning away from the sleeping monster and drawing the attention of all the villagers who now had an exact example of why she shouldn't be trifled with, fulfilling the commanding presence the Monster Lord possessed, although all of them breathed a sigh of relief as their vocal tormentor was silenced.

"Good riddance, I can hear my own thoughts now, this was a mistake..."Luther let himself relax if only a bit, his mind still weighed down by recent troubles.

"I think my ears are still ringing a bit." Luka gripped his own head, groaning. "Thank you for putting her to sleep, Alice."

Serene and blissful silence followed, relieving like cold water on a scorching desert's heat. Nobody spoke another word letting it set it, it was strange – a tension-filled peace as their hearing picked up on sounds that filled the void that was left behind, some birds chirping, or a cricket stridulating and heavy deep breathing from a certain stressed individual who collected his thoughts at a snail's pace. Despair, anger, and contempt began to fade as their perpetrator

"Now that we are finished with that annoyance," Luther said dismissively turning to Luka, a slightly unhinged twitching in his eyes was visible to all. "There needs to be a plan of action Luka, charging in is suicidal and is going to put you in a situation even I won't be able to get you out of, we are talking about the whole village and a queen here, not something two of us can handle lightly."

"Whatever your plan is, I want in. My husband died from a sickness and my only son, Mark was stolen by them and most likely being done unspeakable things too." One of the women spoke up loudly flabbergasting the rest of her group. "As a mother, I can't believe I let myself stay cooped up here as he was taken, I thought he was dead, I just want to see him again!"

"Yes, tragedy has struck our village, but we can't be reckless, it's dangerous Martha." The elder protested, but her efforts proved fruitless, not much passed as others began to voice their desires out.

"I'm coming too, it's like that silver-haired woman said, in spite of our dire situation, we all just hid in our houses while our men and families were being taken. We're cowards." A much younger supported the call for retribution, plenty more followed as the shame and frustration and Alice's tactless words broke through their fear with a realization – this was a major problem, their problem which needed to be solved by them. In mere minutes the villagers including the more hesitant ones agreed, except for one.

"But everyone…" The surrogate village elder weakly objected, seeing only an unfortunate outcome to them all.

"It's too late, village chief. We can't push unrelated travelers to solve our own problems, if we band together I'm sure we can do something.

"Hey, just wait..." Luka suddenly interjected, the very last thing he wanted out of this situation was to endanger anyone defenseless and innocent. "Even if you all band together, it's still dangerous, there are all monsters capable of taking down armed soldiers."

 _Alright, we're back on canon…mostly…_ Chambers sighed glancing back to the unconscious harpy, their vocal tormentor determined to make anyone who caused her wrath through decision or association suffer a result. An idea struck him and perhaps his suffering didn't have to be meaningless as he thought.

"Remember the queen, that is undeniably their leader. If you defeat them, the rest will fall into chaos or cower in fear as their strongest is made absent, like that even weak people like them can stand a chance…but I assume this part of your plan somewhere, eh?" Alice asked Luther, pondering on whether or not this adventurer was already familiar with the way harpy-like communities function, it would only make sense if he has traveled for so long and not ended up being food or slave to any monster.

"First things first we have to consider the fact that we have a hostage with us – a bargaining chip we could potentially use." Luther started, nervously scratching the back of his neck, there were many nods of approval for his idea to come to fruition, part of him wondered if it was simply because of how annoying and criminal she was.

"No, that's too risky." The Monster Lord interjected with a confident huff. "Not only will you expose your intent to attack, but none of us have knowledge of the nature of their leader, we know no real way she could react, especially when said hostage has been crippled. You could get no or an uncaring reply or even worse, a direct attack wiping this settlement out. This is a waste of time, surely that's not all you have thought of?"

"Right, then onto my original idea, it's stupidly simple – attack at night, because they have no clue what has transpired here, it's very likely that most of them will be asleep leaving an option to sneak in and strike their queen down, just like Alice said they will scatter about and rest is history, although one part is easier said than done." Luther admitted, he could only hope for his and Luka's sake that the queen wouldn't go all out, results would be…brutal for either side of the conflict. A thing he had no desire of imagining.

"Harpies aren't exactly a nocturnal species save for a few variants, so your plan does have some merit, although anyone could have come up with this given a few minutes at most, at least you put in some thought before charging to death. Attacking a queen can be punishable by death, you know?~" Alice slyly remarked, though much to her chagrin Luther appeared unfazed at the slightest at her words besides his understandably nervous state, attempting to tease him was a mental drain unlike his much smaller and nervous purple-haired companion

"That plan sounds good enough to me. Don't exactly have anything else we can work with so this is the best we got. It's finally decided then!" Luka's cheerful attitude never failed to rub off on people if ever so slightly, soon enough the townsfolk erupted in enthused cheer, their families were going to be rescued and this time they'll be directly aiding. Many managed to break a smile, whispering or outwardly stating their intentions to give a piece of their mind to their monstrous oppressors or finally being savior, others came out of their shocked melancholy reluctantly joining the nervous yet merry band. Luka couldn't help

"Hey, hey, we can't just barge into their homes at night all at once…" Luka diffidently but loudly interrupted their joy earning subtle approval from Luther and Alice either a nod or a pleasant expression his way, letting his confidence in his argument peak. "You all will have to find somewhere to stay while we go defeat their boss once that happens, I'll give you all signals to attack, is that alright with you?"

They agreed, although a few displayed regret over the fact that they'd still be handing off the hardest task to an outsider, yet it was progress enough for their horrible track of actions. Several villagers decided to separate from their improvised gathering to relax and conduct themselves for the coming bout, some stayed yet further away keeping their eyes on their peacefully sleeping feathery captive, nonetheless even with no threats of violence the fake hero stood vigilant with his companions in case anyone was feeling vindictive enough to exact punishment. Their scheme was already in motion all that was needed was to prepare.

"You're still stuck with the hard part, are you aware of that?" Alice amusedly asked, though her nose still wrinkled at the reminder of such carelessly selfish act that the villagers hadn't stopped for goodness knows how long until they came along.

"Yep, and I wouldn't have any other way in this case, I'm a hero after all." Luka declared he would fulfill his self-imposed duties. Having no official admittance wasn't going to stop him so easily, it would go against everything he has trained and fought for.

"A fake bully hero…" The Monster Lord gleefully reminded Luka who gazed at her as she had utter the most unholy incantation the combination of which summoned foul horrors of memories past, a title that will likely haunt him as long as his monstrous ally draws breath. He shuddered to conceive the idea that this would continue as saw his friend moving away from them.

"Alright…I'll be going then…need to get my thoughts together again…" Luther wobbled out of their view, appearing strangely weak and stressed out to them as if drained of any small remaining will power remaining within him.

"Should we go and talk to him? He seems bothered by something." Luka asked in concern, his body ever so slowly moving towards his friend.

"Leave him, if he has no intention or desire of confiding in us then it's for the best. Some people want to deal with their problems alone, if you're a good friend he will come to you instead, no need to be nosey…" Alice trailed off before smiling. "Come now, we still have much to improve with your movement, you're still stiff as a pole when you fight."

Luka's mood had lit up instantly upon hearing that he will train once more. He took simply for what it was – a chance to get better despite the harsh criticism or insults thrown his way. He wanted to get strong, he needed to for the sake of his dream it was a small thing to endure.

* * *

Luther sat hidden beside a tree, his feet erratically tapping against the grass to the point where he began to feel pain, peering out into the clearing where the harpy lied captured now awoken with grogginess filling her being, her rest seemed to flush the anger out of her system, her face didn't appear as pained just fatigued. No longer was there any futile struggle or threats of severe violence and rape, every single glance she spared was one of deep regret for her actions that landed her in such a troubled predicament. Even capable of handling a simple conversation without any outright outburst with the cautions villagers

The man heard what they spoke about, from revealing that smoldering disdain for him to them, as if it wasn't obvious before, to her people's reasons for their transgressions against Happiness Village surprisingly without interjecting any bias.

"My village and people will die out if we don't do this; we don't care how troublesome and painful it might to you. Our hands are tied in simply for us to continue existing." That was what she said, which was something he could understand as crude and unapologetic as she made it out to be, partly why he was ever so slightly lenient on Monsters committing such vile acts, it was necessary, any species' most basic goal was to live and reproduce. Ultimately because of this world's human society, specifically the wildly dominating religion, Monster-Human relations, and their inability to produce males leading to certain unpleasant complications.

 _I'm glad they seem to be getting along fine enough, less trouble to rack my nerves …_ Chambers already had enough problems to deal between taking care of a living eldritch blade, impending doom from a wrathful Goddess and Monsters, the nauseating nest of lies he had spun. One less problem to deal with was a god-send.

Of course, had seen the mutual hatred between the villagers and said harpy, it was hard not to as it practically permeated through the air. For the couple that spoke with the winged monster, there were ten more that either ignored her completely, spat hate-filled insults, or belittlement which always got a snarky return. No one had the will to attack her, fulfill their vendettas, in spite of their desires and the reason was none other than his companion's wishes. _That's fair enough; mob justice without a proper trial isn't really my taste._

 _Speaking about companions, Sun's going down, are they still at it?_ Luther pondered, gazing at the bright red-orange ball of fire and plasma set on the horizon.

"Chu." Tusk, floating, pointed towards another clearing as best as it could, it was another one of Alice's and Luka's improvised training spots. Its user had already heard all of the shoutings and groaning from the young boy as he attempted to avoid and strike her for hours with little to no success, the boy still held immense battle stamina without any mystical means of recovery he no doubts is aware of its existence soon.

 _Ugh…_ He groaned into his palms. _What the hell have I been doing all this time? Sitting around thinking of the worst while others are trying to improve. It's like always, isn't it? Except for this time my life is on the line..._

"Chumim~in" Luther's stand cooed, consoling him and going underneath his coat and pushing against the fabric forward to the scene, it held little strength despite its sheer lethal power and potential.

 _If I intend on doing nothing, I might as well see this, I need some distraction. Anything._ He complied with his stand's non-verbal demand and stood up, crouching behind a tree seeing how his brave and heroic companion continued to struggle.

Luka dodged to the side, tilting his head to avoid Alice's striking palm barely scraping by his soft skin, she had begun moving faster and more precise in their spar, making his weakness painfully aware to the boy as the many scrapes and bruises could attest to, from being shoved or receiving her "love taps". His left eye flinched but his other one remained open enough to quickly notice her outstretched arm – an opening he could exploit. With his right arm gripping onto Angel Halo comfortably he slashed at the Monster Lord's arm but was suddenly met with another hand to his chin knocking him away from a fair distance.

 _Damn!_ Much to Luka's credit the boy's feet landed and remained on the ground as he rolled back recovering. Body ached as his head became light but in the face of his cocky teacher he kept up a determined expression, of the pain and humiliation was worth if he could at least hit her once, a major victory and progress in its own part.

"Good reactions. Would have worked on somebody who wasn't me…now let's see your footwork." She put one foot behind the other as she circled the now cautious hero, ironically much like a vulture around a rotting carcass before it went for its feast. Gone were the previous petty insults and belittling, replaced by teasing and snarky sharp criticism either through verbal or other means. With a smirk, Alice seemingly vanished, but Luka could just about rarely track the blur that she had become.

 _An attack from the back…how predictable...?_ He quickly turned to intercept her with Angel Halo attempting to stab her shoulder, his only protection against her. The Monster Lord was almost vehemently bothered by the blade when it was in anyone else's hands, granted anybody would be terrified of the sealing weapon if it headed straight toward them, these devouring powers did not discriminate against, whether it be a ruler or common folk.

She was the one left to avoid his blow, no longer a speeding shape to the fake hero, but a comparably sluggish target, curiously, that smirk remained on her countenance in spite of his aggressive dash toward her. Luka became an accurate whirlwind of stabs and slashes directed at only one individual who remained untouched despite that.

 _Come on! Just! One! Hit!_ With every word, his flurry of attacks became faster as his body began screaming from the oxygen debt his muscles incurred working under his ruthless demand for speed and power. He lunged at her neck with strength and swiftness that of a frenzied beast and the technique and grace of a proper fighter, his move hadn't shaken her up a bit.

 _What…?_ The fake hero saw Alice simply side step and the feeling of something vaguely leg shaped sweeping his own with tremendous force. Luka's feet were no longer on the ground, neither was Angel Halo at his disposal as it flew out of his grasp. He was failing, diving hands first into the soft grass uncontrollably rolling and flipping over onto his back. Before his body could recover before he could even move Alice straddled him holding down his arms onto the green land.

"You lost~" Alice grinned at her heroic companion's pitiful state seeing his rapid breathing, rising, and failing chest that didn't show any sign of stopping. There was a clear victor for this match; it was decided from the very beginning. "It is as a thought, clumsily and reckless footwork – a very dangerous problem when fighting monsters."

"I haven't lost yet…there's still plenty of fight left in me…" She chuckled from his false bravado; it was clear as they wouldn't be able to struggle out her hold, much less a weaker monster with such exhaustion.

"Oh? Well, shall we extend our loss conditions then? Make it a real battle between a monster and a human?" Alice grinded on the poor boy's lap to demonstrate her point, though disappointingly it seemed his body was too numb and pained to even feel pleasure, yet nonetheless she continued teasing. "I'm sure there is some minuscule chance you struggle out, or, would you just prefer to be raped in this human form?"

Luka's cheeks flushed, her mischievous questions and their position certainly hadn't helped his heart rate decrease one bit. He bit his lip, intently staring at her face. Angel Halo wasn't anywhere near to save him this time. A rogue idea sprung into his head, something which made him flush even further and turn his gaze away. "Can it really be called rape, if there is a preference?"

She leaned back with a challenging smile, letting go out of his arms yet her legs wrapping around tighter on his chest. "Suppose not, but that does imply a certain willingness to it, doesn't it? That depends in this case - are you willing?"

"I – I uh…hu…" The bully hero couldn't utter a single word at that being left completely flustered He found the pressure around his chest vanished as she stood up giving him a little bit of much-needed distance and depriving him of the strange intimateness, leaving him to recover his body and weapon.

"Come on, there is no use in us sitting around, and being exhausted won't help you defeat the harpy queen, either from training or through other means~." The Monster Lord said with a huff, he knew perfectly what she meant, an outcome that was much worse not only for his energy but for his dignity and faith.

"You can come out now, I know you were watching." Alice called out into wilds nearby to the village, much to Luka's surprise Luther emerged from the trees still stressed as ever. His face twisted into a frown much like that of his older friend.

"I didn't hear or see much, I was simply pondering about things when you fought and before you ask, it's personal…" Luther's face remained unflinching, although they could both see something eating away at him. Alice nodded, and Luka didn't want to pester the main either

So as long as you don't wander off with your daydreaming and lose your grip on reality it will be fine, anyway, our session here is done...unless you want to work on your capabilities, hmm?" Alice inquired, only getting a silent headshake from Chambers. She walked off leaving both males alone, and for the fake hero to reveal his exhaustion with a heavy breath.

"Ugh…I'm glad she is done, don't know how long I could take it, she called it stamina and speed training." Luka lamented fully sheathing his sealing blade into its small scabbard. He noticed the unfocused frown he gave to him. "Hey, are you-"

"You did well, now get your break, can't have a hero throwing his life away just because he did catch some rest. It's nice to be diligent, but too much can be detrimental" Luther suggested padding the boy on the back and subtly pushing him toward the direction of the village. The fake hero walked automatically, hoping to catch up to Alice's slow stride, but not before turning back around for one more glance.

"I'll be fine, just a lot of troubles on my mind…"

* * *

 _I'm not fine, I'm not fine…I need to relax, somehow get these thoughts out of my head, even if temporarily…_ Luther felt as if accusatory figurative walls started to close around him. The more he looked at that prison blade the more was reminded of how horrible this world that he was transported in was, and through his own fault. Tusk didn't help the issue much as best it tried to spread its harmonious serenity to him. He was too disjointed to accept.

 _Why here? Out of all the places and why did I have to be me? I have witnessed and done such horrors over the course of a few days!_ He growled into his hands as his fingernails dug into his scalp, the knowledge of being here was already torturous enough, but to think the very firsts acts he had committed coming here was deceit and murder, lies all too horrible that he would never utter in a lifetime. Anger and despair welled up within him at the thought of the potential child kidnapping, predatory behavior of some of the monsters, and worst of all the sealing of those Angels for all eternity.

_Locked away, suffering for my own and the world's sake and you don't even want nor have the will to lift even a finger, what are you and what have you done with me?_

_It's only going to get worse Luther, there is no point in worrying about this._ Despite this conviction, he felt his soul burn as if a cancer was spreading through it, eliminating any form of goodwill and hope left in him. The best he could at this point was minimizing his pain – that was his only likely option. If Chamber couldn't help, then he would drone out the screams.

 _Music…games…photos or videos…anything…_ The troubled man reached into his bag, pulling out the phone he had stashed away only a couple of days ago possibly not seeing the light of day again if it wasn't for such a need for its entertainment. He had no other worries. Nobody was watching him do this, not even Ilias, such a weakness and detail he could not afford to show no matter what pain he felt. Its screen turned on with a singular long click of a side button, showing the lock screen that displayed battery, internal clock, and…

 _Th-The…the date…I missed it…_ Luther's hands shook erratically at the sight of it, apathy no longer shielded him as his face almost lifeless froze into a look of shame and despair, his heartbeat raced, and he swallowed a lump in his throat multiple times as his mouth dried up. The man's shoulders and head slumped to the point where he carelessly dropped the bag, his knees following closely behind hitting the dirt and grass. He tried to speak, but nothing came out of his lips, except dry coughing and sharp intakes of air. Tusk floated along on his thigh trying to draw its attention but failing miserably as he paid no mind to its presence.

_I already passed it - the day I visit dad's grave, the day he died…how could I forget?_

It was another sharp knife that was left twisted in his heart, a reminder of his failures, of everything taken away from him. Everything was gone, his belongings, the few friends he had, his family, his entire world, but perhaps he could…

"No, stop deluding yourself, you can't return Luther, it's not possible" The man let out a few hopeless chuckles staring at his phone's screen, not that it mattered anymore. He was still trapped as ever, an entire universe away from his home even after having done so far, the shameful lying, the killing, and assault, the inaction in the face of ultimate torturous isolation. He was nearly raped by someone he could say trusted a little. Nothing in his life could compare. "Destiny has a habit of making its punching bag, doesn't it?"

 _What happens to me now? I have no real means of escape…why am I here, why did I touch that orb? Is this a punishment for some unknown transgression?_ _To hell with this entire world! I wish it was all burned to ash, scattered into the emptiness that is space along with me and its creators!_ With a yell, Luther slammed his fist into the ground as hard as he could, entire arm ached but he cared not.

 _What else does this world have in store for me!?_ His few hopelessly pessimistic chuckles slowly turned into outward manic laughter as he stretched his arms out into the sky and then gripped the sides of his face. _Is this how it ends? Am I to be drained and then eaten by some biological freak with the self-awareness of a brick? A quick death at least…even worse I could get turned into some pathetic sex slave, constantly used over and over again until my life runs dry, and if I'm lucky I can be a "Husband" to one of them as if that's any different, perhaps with a little more dignity left intact…_

"What if I win, killing a god… am I then left to wander the lands alone, or waste away in some forgotten corner when everyone else I know thinks I'm long dead and moved on…I really am just another stepping stone for this world's 'bright future'…blech." He gave his laugh a hard stop with a fierce yet shaky frown, catching his breath. Luther felt his stand creep upon his arm, cooing an eerily familiar tune with different pitches. It had almost appeared to be crying…

"Chu! Chu! Chumimi~in!" Tusk avoided comforting Luther's arm instead, floating and reaching for the dropped bag, its small body slowly entering it, rummaging around in Chamber's only belongings bewildering even its user as to what its plans were. Luther painfully waited, blankly staring off into the far distance, his vision becoming cloudy; these lands were far too peaceful to have such horrible beings live within them was what he thought. The man had no idea how long he spent unmoving, only to be interpreted by a sudden sadness and longing nostalgia in his link.

His right hand felt the touch of smooth plastic-like paper, something which he curiously accepted from the dark, star-covered stand. He brought it up to his view, clutching it closely. It was a photo, the contents of which paralyzed him, understanding the emotions his stand was feeling. Small tear droplets fell onto the material, staining it lightly, he choked up. _I…I…didn't know I still had this._

Chambers' hands quivered as held it as best he could, the photo depicted a small boy and a much older parental man standing close together and smiling. The old man looked similar to Luther in build and facial structure, few gray strands of hair accompanied his short fringe, he was giving the child next to him an affectionate noogie while the soft brown-haired boy tried getting him off- a picture of a child and a father, a picture of Luther with his father. It was a photo none of them were prepared in taking, yet this one was the most precious.

"Chu…" Tusk flew up to snuggle into its user's neck as he turned the photo to see the white background that had something written on it in neat black handwriting that was not his own.

 **Cry if you want, you'll have your chance to see the dawn.** A message that carved its way into his souls, a message he so desperately wished to come true, in the very least it was like that when his old man was still in the living world with him.

Luther remembered the time when his father was alive as sobs turned into full crying, he wouldn't be wrong if he were to call it the happiest parts of his life only to be rivaled by a few. There were many moments where he spent time with family playing sports, games, reading books, and discussing ideas. He wanted him to grow, they all did…that was until a fateful accident then it all progressively went downhill from there.

* * *

_Hot smoke and ash filled my lungs as flames started to surround them, I was trapped with no way to escape unscathed, barely alive and conscious as it is, disoriented from the crash. It felt like I could drift away so easily into Neverland and let the inferno consume me. That…was until he spoke to me, he saved me, left me unharmed at the cost of my his life._

" _It should have been me…"_

* * *

"It should have been me…" He said, wiping the mass of tears away from his eyes and staining his sleeves. Tusk wept with him.

"I wish you were still around, that you could appear to me for one minuscule minute so you can tell me what to do or that all will be fine because at this point it is hard to believe that myself…I try to be good, I really do, but many mistakes were made and I feel like I'm just following in the footsteps of your shadow just for your sake. So…offer me your guidance if that is even possible." The despair-filled man pleaded, wheezing and clutching the picture close to his chest, soft footsteps behind him in the grassy fields interrupted the sound of blowing air and his cries.

"Hey, Luther I was wondering when- are you…crying?" Luka's young boyish voice was both unmistakable and painful to hear, this was the thing he least expected or wanted – somebody stumbling upon him in such pitiful stat, he wanted to be alone and Luka wasn't likely to leave him be so easily or if he had the will to tell him off.

The boy without another word rushed to Luther's side kneeling with him and putting a supporting hand on his unmoving friend's shoulder. Through great effort Luka witnessed Chamber's sorrowful face, the one he tried hard to hide away, his red tear-stained cheeks were too hard to look at, the fake hero couldn't even imagine that the stoic cold wall that was his friend would ever break down in such a manner and for what reason? Luka's only desire at this moment was to find a reason for his companion's pain and he did try prying, but it proved useless after several minutes, Luther's lips were shut tight as his eyes continued to water. Instead, Luka was determined to simply stay by his side.

"Hey…it's alright you can trust me…I won't tell anyone." Luka knew how secretive his friend could be and something personal like this would be no exception, but nonetheless, he sought to help. Luther helped him with his inadequacy and training; it was time for him to return the favor.

"Mourning...a few days ago from now is when I usually visit my dad's grave." That was all Luther responded with unsure of why he spoke, perhaps only seeking to comfort whoever he can. The man grew stiff as he felt arms wrap around his waist holding him in a calming hug, not letting up a single hint that he wasn't going to let go for a long time.

"Ah, when did he…?" Immediately Luka understood what he was feeling, he was extremely familiar with the death of family, and to know his friend had experienced the same loss was surprising and unexpected, then again such a thing wouldn't be easy to guess in the fake hero either.

"Twelve years ago." Luther said in a shaky voice, yet somehow ended up sounding lifeless as well not aiding Luka's composure at all.

"Twelve years?!" The purpled haired boy gasped in shock, his friend's pitiful state reminded him much of the earlier days when his mother passed away when the pain wasn't so dulled and shouldering. It was easy to imagine the same circumstances for Luther, but the emotions portrayed were too much for the time that passed so he couldn't help but be flabbergasted nonetheless giving empathy to his friend. "Isn't that a li-"

"To grieve, never." Luther responded with the sheer amount of determination and contempt in his voice compared to his usual self couldn't help but create whiplash for the poor boy holding him like a corpse. Why shouldn't he be able to grieve? Was there some set time limit where a person's death no longer matters, it was shameful to even consider such a concept for the man.

"Everything is okay, people just cope differently…I get it…" Luka let out an awkward laugh at his mistake, he knew what he was crossed into was a touchy topic and he should tread lightly lest he makes this even worse. His mother was the only family Luka ever truly had, back then the only joy in his life and so when her illness finally took her life wasn't the same, it still isn't. There were times he spent locked away in his bedroom either praying or thinking of pointless what-ifs.

"I take it he was close to you." This was the only conclusion the fake hero made, it only seemed fitting when comparing his own life,

"He was a good man – smart, kind and charismatic, nearly perfect… if the world had more people like him around there wouldn't be any need for any suffering. Much of what I seek is because of him…he saved my life at the cost of his own, gave me a debt I cannot hope to repay" Chambers sighed as he let his tears flow freely. He heard Tusk's soft cooing which tried to help him calm down, but a storm had already brewed within as he returned Luka's hug holding on tightly, nearly crushing him. "I don't get it! Why did he have to die!? Why was I the one to live, it should have been me that died! Instead, he gave his life away to a failure that got himself stranded in the middle of nowhere! I wonder what he would think now, what do you think he would say to me?"

"Don't say that! You're not a failure and if you were it wouldn't matter, he saved you because you were family and that shows how much he cared about you! "

"How do you know?" Luther yelled back, biting down his tongue as he noticed how spooked the boy.

"Some things are just outside our control…" Luka paused feeling his own eyes begin to water, he shared that sentiment – fate just seemed far too cruel at certain times. "My mom's life slowly faded away in front of my own eyes, denied needed medicine by the villager. I hated them for letting her die out of stupid superstition, I wanted to see them gone… but with her dying breath she pleaded for me not to hate them, to become a great hero… "

Luther waited for Luka to continue, the sun was already beginning to set. He already knew the story, but not the full extent to how much it affected him or the moral he was trying to present in the meanwhile he felt a massive presence coming from a certain nosy goddess spying on them, she always followed wherever the boy went, part of him wondered whether or not she took any breaks other than nighttime which only filled him with anger. _Good, keep watching, let yourself see what pain you have inflicted on your family… you care so deeply about…you deserve all guilt you can get._

"What I'm trying to say here…it's obvious we can't change the past or bring them back…but the best we can do is keep their wishes in mind and move forward, I'm sure that's what my mother would want and that's what I've done…I'm here right now because of that with a good friend." Luka finished cleaning away his tears. Luther reflected at Luka's statement carefully, he had tried to move forward only to end up as some pathetic mockery of his father – a man who wanted to help the world. He wasn't even sure if that desire was pure in hindsight, simply done out of pity and respect, a path that wasn't his own that left him broken…ironic.

There he was complaining and despairing over what his father would feel toward him if he knew what he had become that Luther failed to realize something - his dad did depart with last words, specifically addressed to no one else but him. Had he failed in considering

" _Whatever happens from now on, know that I will always love you. Keep going forward and don't stop. Be who you want to be, I promise you – everything will be okay…I trust you…"_

"Thank you, I needed that…" Luka was right, Luther thought. His father likely never wanted him to sulk around like this in such dire circumstances, he wanted his son to live and strive no matter what happened even in this god-forsaken world even after all he had done. "You can let go now, I'll be fine."

Luka didn't comply, much to his chagrin, squeezing back even harder for a moment, really making sure his compatriot was fine. The fake hero finally let go after a couple of minutes when it got uncomfortable, he stood up giving the distance between them as he politely gestured toward the village where many were left waiting.

"Come on, I can keep you company there, besides they might need more supervision if we don't want a strangled harpy on our hands. "Luka nervously japed, flashing a smile that fit his tone.

"No…I need to stay here a bit and compose myself, can't go out there looking like a mess." The stand user rubbed his face, messaging it.

"Alright, I understand." The purple-haired boy furiously nodded, sluggish turning to walk back to the Happiness Village.

"Wait, before you go." Luther paused, swallowing the last lump in his throat along with despair and fear remembering those words said to him.

" _Keep going forward and don't stop."_

"Can you leave Angel Halo with me? I'll give it back to you, promise." The older man requested, earnestly gazing at his short ally with pleading eyes, unlike the previous times he talked with Alice or Luka there was no apathetic shell, he was completely transparent now, but that did not mean he was going to burden anyone else with this cursed knowledge, so he kept the reason out of his request.

"Uhm… okay…" The fake hero unbuckled the scabbard that contained the cursed prison blade handing it to Luther who shivered ever so slightly at the contact and with that he said his departing words. "If you ever need any help, just ask…"

Luka left, he was now alone with Angel Halo in his admittedly shaky hands.

 _It's now or never, I've been avoiding you for so long…whatever happens, happens…_ He unsheathed holding it in front of his view, he wouldn't dare look away now even when all of its eyes were trained on him like they were expecting him, but he wasn't sure whether the stare appeared malicious or not. This was it, there was no turning back. He was going to confront them and hopefully comfort them whether he likes it or not, it was the only way he saw to redeem himself.

"Chumimi~in" Lighthearted as it was strange to feel Tusk cheering him on, last time he has done this the poor fighting ghost was terrified half to death, he had no clue how to take this, did it foretell something good after a couple of moments of hesitation and direct eye-contact with Angel Halo determined that he didn't truly care and accepted encouragement.

_Please let there be any forgiveness left in you all and if not then at least it will end with me trying to do good in this world, besides there is not much of a good end for me left._

* * *

Unending darkness surrounded Luther and Tusk leaving only a bright silver flame of his soul emanating from his chest to illuminate and give comfort to them, eerily familiar surroundings that safe to say brought unpleasant to the man. It was quiet, quiet enough to hear a pin drop from a mile away in this environment or in his case his breathing, Tusk's soft sounds, and his heart palpitations. Everything was heard in great detail, making it easy enough to notice the slight arrhythmia, the raspiness of his breath along with his saliva being swallowed echoed through the most space.

 _I think this was a mistake, it's not the thought of being alone that gets you, but the thought that you're_ _ **not**_ _alone in a place like this._ Such emptiness nearly paralyzed him completely in an instant, this was what those Angels faced for a large part of their lives. He couldn't imagine living like this for a week or two let alone eternity even with Tusk around, not that he hated it, just a barely vocal part of your soul wasn't much of a conversationalist when you're trapped in an endless void. The very fact that the sealed angels could appear at any moment and tear him apart racked his nerves every second that passed to no end, it would so easy to just leave...

"Chu…" Tusk was correct, although it did share his sentiment about this prison, he was here to fulfill a promise and fear wasn't going to stop him - he either dies here or he dies later. There is little difference, he concluded.

Chambers thought to make the best of his hopeless situation and stepped forward with an insecure gait, his stand hanging off his arm and playfully swinging around to calm itself, it's always capable of radiating a joy that kept him feeling alive. He felt a sharp gust of wind flow through him, a sign that they were close.

"I'm back, right here…" A slight quivering of the hand, the shaking small in his leg, his entire body told him that declaring was a horrible idea only being reaffirmed by several hauntingly divine voices calling, resounding throughout the black abyss contained within Angel Halo.

Gold entered his vision, the imposing figure, a concentrated mass of light energy more accurately, stood before him just far enough away that the idea of fleeing didn't seem too far fetched as they hadn't acted yet. Its features were as indiscernible as ever - hard to tell where one appendage started and the other ended, red glowing orbs that vaguely seem to act as eyes scattered about. In his previously abrupt visit, he had never truly considered the staggering size difference between them, no wonder they could envelop him so easily.

"...well, I uh…" Luther shook in the face of the collection of angels, the fear in him was evident for them gripped his hands into fits and closed his eyes. "I'm so- Ah!"

The man and stand yelped as they were lifted off the black ground in blinding speed, enveloped by their warm intangible form, most of his body pushed away or phased through the golden air that composed their form, there wasn't much struggle against. Their body was more of an unstoppable force than any physical object he could interact with.

Chambers wildly swung his arms and legs around causing little to no actual effect on the Angels, it was all over for him, this was all he got for being altruistic - torn limbs, broken spine, and shattered soul, yet…

None of that happened, he was being held but it was a gentle embrace that endured despite his miss-guided defiance. Hushed whispers that welcomed him back entered his mind like a symphony, he heard how they thanked him for his mere mending presence, his body relaxed feeling a strangely soft surface behind his back. Arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind, gently sliding down his chest and grabbing Tusk, almost playing with the tiny stand.

Their gold interlaced with his silver aura, like vines wrapping around one another, sharing their energy as it calmly cycled through - a very familiar intimate bliss that couldn't help but bring comfort even as his soul vehemently rejected such breach of personal space, perhaps this was a complete connection he could have established with that small lamia child? His face twisted into a grimace as he remembered.

A tangible figure emerged from the holy mist that looked vaguely woman-like in its bountiful and buxom shape, in place of its eyes were the same red orbs that accompanied the rest of its misty form, it was a singular body they all shared - that of pseudo-formlessness. The feminine figure held him down preventing any minuscule chance of escape, Luther felt their touch, physical for the first time. He glanced to his side, one of the pair's arms holding him belonged to another figure, whose breasts he had made a pillow of, in fact, on closer inspection there were feminine figures of varying proportions all around him colliding, separating, mixing, and submerging into one another.

"So many...ah! Y-you, don't hate me for leaving?" The stand user stuttered out still shocked from the sudden display of affection - he had expected for them to enact their reckoning with him leaving before any real damage could be done, yet still, it was an unexpected change of events. His unforeseen wardens understood his confusion although they did very little to aid it with conflicting answers and some questions as the angel in front of him caressed his cheek, brushing away tears from his bloodshot eyes. He flinched away leaving a grasping delicate hand dissatisfied.

Chambers watched as Tusk was whisked away by a group of random hands and wings, they gently passed him around, tickling or poke the small spiritual being, the gears in mind began to turn logically processing through and attempting to a conclusion until it suddenly hit him on the head. _Oh...of course, they wouldn't hate the only person they saw in… god knows...how long, especially if that individual is like a pain killer to them._

Pleasant hymns echoing in his thoughts confirmed his assumption, although their ability to poke around his head displeased him greatly, at this point he couldn't complain considering they were directly touching at the edge's of his soul, nonetheless their company proved to be comforting. He had many things to say to them. "Once again, sorry for leaving... It just happened so abruptly and I didn't know how to react appropriately, I was…"

"Scared, of being lost here or being torn apart." Luther felt their objection in the slight manic change of their flow, the orbs changed shape into sharp triangles mimicking a glare. "Hey, you didn't exactly help the case when you charged at me."

The man immediately regretted saying that, many of the angel figures before him slumped their gazes softening shoulders others continued to glare, their actions were of desperation, he couldn't blame them. "Uh...right, I was the first person you've ever seen in this isolated hell, looking at this place it's easy to say I wouldn't even last a week…"

He hated it - the sheer dread contained in their acknowledgment and the seeking of comfort from their embrace, reminding him of how much time they spent practically duct-taped to each other. He continued. "Regardless there was no way I could stay with for long. Time in the outside world still flows normally when with you, to the others around me I would be standing completely frozen, not very explainable in my case now, is it?."

Many of the figures nodded, some tightened their grips on him in hopes that he wouldn't prematurely escape again, the one on top of him shifted her body, her "eyes" moving abdomen. Two red orbs mixed together becoming larger and beginning to expand even further encompassing her upper part of the body. Luther observed curiously as a black dot appeared in the middle surrounded by a green iris, its whole design was akin to many of the eyes that adorned its sword-shaped prison.

 _That's me..._ He soon found himself staring at what appeared to be a reflection, however as he examined closely the background was the forested nature he was accustomed to seeing, the "reflection" also didn't follow his own movement staying completely still in a meditative trance. His real-world counterpart kept its eyes closed, still breathing. _They can look outside, that's good, means there is some hope - a prison which you can stick your head out is one you can escape from._

"You can see outside? Right, right... I'll be honest and get to the point, I came here to apologize and…" Luther felt them eagerly awaiting his further words, he quietly noted the limitations of their mind reading they were capable of - only surface-level thoughts it seemed. " You don't deserve to be locked away, or at least for all of eternity...maybe I could try to free all you somehow...one or another, at first I thought of breaking the sword, though that may just end up destroying you..."

The man felt a surge in joy from most of them. Others proved to be strangely skeptical, both of his intentions but his capability to do so, he couldn't blame them for doubting him after all he hadn't exactly confess to his complete thought process. All things come to light eventually, he shouldn't hope false hope. "If it's possible I will try that I can promise, but…"

And there it came - crushing suspicion and cynicism. Of course, there would be some form of repayment, they thought. His promise wasn't exactly a little thing to accomplish, but they couldn't accept an outrageous offer despite their compromising situation, perhaps there would be ways to persuade him using their 'expertise'. It would be the first time they did it like this together, a lot of them wondered whether his mind and body could endure that, yet his alien soul gave all the reassurance they needed. Regardless they intensely listened, keeping their thoughts and whispers to themselves.

"This world needs you…" He sighed knowing he couldn't exactly expose the whole truth, if he could say it outright then subtlety will have to do. "As you can probably tell by my 'essence' I'm not a normal human, I know a lot of things my others don't. There are people hidden in the shadow of large scheming, plotting a total takeover or destruction of the entire world, these people are powerful and I'm afraid they can only be beaten with the help of your combined might…"

"If you haven't caught on yet, I'm asking you not only for my sake but also for the millions alive right now - Monster, Human, Angel, and for peace to stay inside for a bit longer." The sudden change in atmosphere was unmistakable, Luther felt foreign disappointment, frustration, betrayal, and rage, their hands shifted into claws that lightly dug into his clothes. Those Angels couldn't believe it, they waited all this time, watching him just to be told he will be abandoning them once more to cold cold dark.

"Chu Chu!" Tusk pleaded with them to listen, one of the view things keeping them from enacting their vindication on him to tear him apart, besides the calming link they had. Chambers leaned forward grabbing onto one of the figure's hands intertwining their fingers together, they froze at his determined countenance, one they saw so many times on the purple-haired companion of his.

"I won't leave you to suffer, never! It's already enough that I've done horrible things - lie, kill and assault, I'm not going to let this become another regret..." He took a deep breath, his words and conviction had eased and enthused them as he spread his silvery aura around. "From my little amount of knowledge, this energy seems to ease whatever pained state you're in if my senses are correct, this peace lasts for a lengthy time. My point is - you don't have to be in pain and help us, whenever you need it I can be there…"

"...Most of the time…" Luther finished, the man admittedly couldn't account for everything and while having an ally was great he still needed to get stronger personally if we're to stand a chance at survival. They froze completely at his heartfelt and determined tone, their grasp on his body becoming slipping for just a moment before being squeezed from all sides into a tight embrace, Tusk was fashioned into a soothing plush toy for them as well.

"Uh!...I guess you agree with my proposition?" The man couldn't help but smile at their almost child-like joy and acceptance, he didn't know why it seemed to be uncharacteristic for them to do so, likely a side effect of them staying here for so long.. "Then this marks the first of many sessions."

Luther relaxed as their grips on him weakened, allowing his mind to wander without worry for questions long forgotten or intended to ask, joined by soft whispering that answered them. Curiosity and a spark of hope guided him to ponder and probe his mind like it once did in the past, a feeling he had nearly forgotten. Although that feeling quickly turned to bewilderment. The man sourly starred as the central angel straddling him unbuttoned his coating before dropping down onto his chest, sensually sliding down his back and letting her 'naked' breasts squish against him, their faces only a foot apart. It wasn't helped by the subtle tugs and touches that became more frequent, their assets rubbing against his body.

 _Oh, no, no, no..._ Luther nervously twitched as another pressed her chest against the back of his head, ultimately something he wouldn't mind if it wasn't with any other sultry action, he didn't doubt for a moment that he had gathered some amount of affection from them yet this was beginning to be too much for him. The true horror came when he spotted at the corner of his vision several other Angels gather below, he felt their hands on his pants, his belt being slowly unbuckled by one as the other reached under

"None of that! " He defiantly roared out, startling many of them into an uncomfortable silence, his eyes explored trying to find any spot where they didn't completely take up his vision. "Please...don't do this, I don't want this and likely never will...neither would I be in the mood if I did."

"I'm a real mood killer, aren't I?" Chambers bitterly laughed, earning a soft coo from his stand and a look of disappointment and shame from the angels. They complied, many of them knowing full well that he could just leave in an instant. He was right, his emotional state wasn't truly happy to them. "Look, I'm fine with what we have already, so best not to ruin that."

They notice a certain shakiness in his voice, furthermore scribing through his emotions proved to be melancholic at best - a piece of information was missing, something he didn't share, great sadness remained hidden underneath, recalling his teary expression as marched into their little pocket prison. Eventually, some of them dared to ask.

"It's nothing…" He winced from gazes they looked to be full of suspicion despite their simplistic appearance, or perhaps it was him projecting his own self-judgment. He confessed to Luka about his pain, a boy he was afraid of calling a friend in an environment no doubt filled with an inquisitive goddess - likely his future enemy. So why couldn't he do the same here? There was no one else listening, just him and an isolated band of angels floating in a black empty space.

Luther closed his eyes, grabbing the startled Angel on top of him, pulling her closer, and letting his chin rest on her head, she and her sisters eventually returned the caring gesture. "My father died twelve years ago, ever since that day my life hasn't been the same - a cruel wake call to reality...the anniversary of his death was a couple of days, I missed it without having a single thought about it. Now I am stuck, his grave far away, I can only hope what remains of my family tends to it..."

Chambers had begun to notice that tears were flowing his eyes again, never had he expected that homesickness would ever strike him so hard, but it's was simple desire - he wanted to be away from all of this depravity, deceit, and pain, back home where the only thing killing him was alcohol and apathy and where there was no need to lie to orphans, hurt or kill anyone. The man needed someplace to reassure himself, to move forward as promised.

"I have another request...help me feel better about myself, at least for now."

* * *

**Luther's notes: Angels.**

**The third race inhabiting this universe and unlike many of the rest of the inhabitants, all of them are spiritual beings purely composed of Light Energy, unlike their monstrous counterparts which possess physical aspects that were molded by Dark Energy. They're the first living creation of Ilias, the Goddess of Light, originally designed to simply keep her company and stay off her loneliness, but their 'yes-man' attitude managed to drive the Primordial being to even further isolation, which inevitably proved to be the cause of many catastrophes and her very end.**

**Not like their Dark counterpart, they were directly created by Ilias with no preexisting template being present, the only exception of being herself. As a result most of them originally resembled their creator in some way – graceful winged women, only differentiating as time passed by and the need for diverse and combative roles became prominent after aggressions between both supernatural species, often taking what sane men would call grotesque forms which were sometimes hidden away. Further direct creations of Angels seemed to mostly cease, barring some few exceptions, after Ilias uncovered the ancestors of this world's Humans.**

**Each Angel could be called a fragment of light, tiny elementals in their own right, one would wonder if it's possible to make contracts with them like with Four Spirits, but I personally suppose that's what blessings were.**

**Because of their lack of physicality and being made entirely out of Light Energy, their forms are very moldable, a skilled Angel would be able to theoretically manipulate their form adding appendages or certain other features to their body, they're also intangible, unable to be harmed or touched without consent by anything other than their own kind and some exceptions I would go into detail later.**

**Energy is not the only thing that differentiates Angels and Monsters. Angels had a strict hierarchal structure of varying ranks very similar to the Abrahamic faith one, typically the more less-humanoid features an Angel had (Counting true form) the higher ranked they were, much different from the generally disorganized communities that Monsters have. Although the rank structure has been unofficially dismantled after the war there still seems to be some form of instinctual superior-subordinate relationships still left. Despite all of those differences behavior-wise Angel aren't different Monsters, they both seemed to be predatory towards Humanity, equally as capable of the same depravity, though possessing a higher sense of self-importance (Probably a remnant of Ilias's personality and the decades spent with the general lack of contact with Humans and Monsters)**

**Relations between Monster and Angels are strained due to them and their creators practically being mortal enemies, the past of massive conflict between one another has left a taste of disgust and hostility toward one another; however, they seem to be finding more and more common ground through brief findings in my travels.**

**Was is most interesting to note is their capability to see and interact with Stands and vice versa which came as a shock, but in hindsight that should have been an obvious conclusion on my part both Stand and Angels are spiritual in nature and therefore should be able to interact. Yet I haven't witnessed Ghosts interact or fight with them directly with the exception of one friend.**

**With the aid of some of my new colleagues and friends my study into Angel physiology, society, and history keeps increasing. I can only hope my other research progresses in such a manner.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Luther started off as a concept of putting a generally prudish but compassionate person in an otherwise perverted and sadistic world, and I'll be honest, if given the chance of going to MGQ I would not go there, it's simply my paranoid risk evaluation kicking in. Not only is there off lack of technology in the human populace, something we as humans have come to depend on heavily, I also don't have the proper means to defends myself from Monsters and Angels, they're just more powerful.
> 
> Or maybe I'm just not horny enough.
> 
> I can also safely say that this story and the main character (in my outlines at the very least) have developed far more than I expected compared to the planning process of SoD.


	11. Width

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after several all-nighters, some semi mental breakdowns, and a couple of shots of honey bourbon, I'm finished with this chapter. Be wary, it is a long one, so best set aside some time to read it.

Evening came easy, darkness stretching - out and consuming the sky as sunlight abandoned it retreating into the other side of the world, what few light rays remained were blocked off by the dense forest canopy, it was best that way – let what will happen here be unheard by the larger world. Luther confidently strolled along an unmarked path with a soft smile on his face, carrying Angel Halo gently in his hands, he had cut a precisely clean hole in the scabbard to let one of the central eyes look through, no longer impeded by simple fabric. There was a certain skip in his stride as he quietly whistled to himself keeping within line of sight of the sealing blade. He passed through the shrubbery into a small clearing far away from the harpy whose voice had drilled on their ears. The man wondered what became of her merely hoping for the sake of this village and Luka that she wasn't harmed. Any guardian will no doubt fight with full strength upon hearing that their people were harmed and he doubted the Harpy Queen would be any different.

Chambers noticed the gazes of the villagers shifted toward him staring in awe like he was some heaven-sent savior, which wasn't far off the truth, he had certainly made himself a center of attention after that endeavor to capture their hostage and the screaming match he went into. They were gathered in groups, armed with sharp and blunt instruments of any kind – cleavers, hammers, sickles, and more, some even had actual weapons, but whatever they had was useless if they didn't know how to use them, especially regarding battling much stronger opponents that could even fly.

"Excuse me, traveler!" A voice called out to him – one of the village women he guessed, its familiarity barely touching the edges of his memory, he couldn't lay his finger on it to who it belonged to. The Stand user heard many of them speak before, yet paid no mind to the details nor names. Nonetheless, he turned to meet…Martha, if his mind didn't fail him.

"You're Luther, am I correct?" She asked in an uncertain voice, his passive frown must have returned to him. Luther held back a sigh; he knew that his expression failed to put anyone at ease, it was something that came to him one day, and decided to stay.

"Yes, are there any problems, is the harpy being too loud again?" The Spin user responded in a calm and polite tone, if he couldn't help but frown all the time, might as well make the best of the situation and keep whatever part he could control pleasant, which evident by her chuckle he succeeded in just exactly that.

"No, last time I checked she was asleep…it just your friends have been waiting for you and that purple-haired fellow said he can't start until you come back with that…weapon of his." She said remembering the unpleasant design and pointed toward where he presumed his friends rested, Luther could've sworn he heard her quietly muse on how it could fit into the sheath and whether or not it was actually staring at her. He nodded at the information already knowing this, partly the reason why cut the session with Angel so short.

"Wait a bit!" However before he could walk off to join Luka and Alice, the woman stopped him once more. "…We can't thank you enough for helping us after knowing what we did, without you and your companions we would've let this village fade into nothing like many have done before. So once again…thank you, you are true heroes."

"Not a hero, have no blessing and I don't intend to get one, besides you're amending your mistakes and what kind of people would me and friends be if we didn't stop this injustice?" Luther winced, it was another lie, he couldn't be called a true hero not even close. To be so would imply altruistic intentions, his were far from it – a need to distract yourself and to give his half-angel friend much-needed experience and encouragement, maybe a part of him was selfless but it was drowned out by personal needs.

"Right…we've been discussing certain things in our village…what happens after this entire raid? Do we take our men back and that's it? What do we do with harpies afterward? They could stay and fight or take revenge…" Martha trailed off, mumbling to herself.

He understood her concern, practically waging war and attacking a leader of an entire group of monsters when you're just villagers wasn't a good idea at all, they'd all would have been better off calling for help from the militias in larger cities. _No doubt they would be willing to protect an important luxury good supplier, although what would the cost be then? A takeover, discount, or some trade deal that ends up screwing over the village?_

"Ah…and why are you asking me this?" Chambers inquired, though the man could sympathize with their situation, he had no qualifications in determining their decisions, much less if there is a possibility to change this village's fate for the worse.

"Well, you're to only one that seems well-adjusted to this." He wanted to laugh at this response, he really did if only they knew of the emotions that surged in his heart they would be disgusted instead of bothering to ask, he thought. In hindsight he considered her argument silently, Luka was too optimistic and naïve to give a proper answer, Alice would likely only offer bitter remarks and criticism and so he was left for pickings.

"In all honesty, I cannot answer that, I'm no leader figure and no knowledge of the true workings of your village and how much you all have suffered. We're only here to aid, what happens afterward is Happiness Village's responsibility, you did promise to do this yourself…" Luther paused gauging the woman's disappointed reaction. "But I can offer a piece of advice - don't be rash about it, rushing into a conclusion will end in mistakes and those can prove costly in a situation such as this, tell that to your fellow villagers and if they don't consider it, then tell them I said it… just in case."

She clapped her hands and nodded in acknowledgment. "Thank you for advice; you truly are saints for helping us."

' _Don't be rash about it', heh, you know about that very well, don't you Luther…?_ With that she left him alone with his tired thoughts and heavy heart, life had a way of rearing its ugly head just to make him feel awful in some way, be it a small or large way. He met Angel Halo's crimson eye on the hilt, its look no longer roused any feelings of discomfort, and instead, it was welcoming, almost reassuring if a terrifying eldritch blade was capable of portraying such emotion. A single whistle and he continued moving, already spotting the faint glimpse of his friend's forms, he could spot that famed purple hair for a mile away and Alice's choice of attire always stood out from the Human masses.

"Oh, Luther! Been wondering when you'll show up." Luka waved over to him, his already obvious presence added on by his loud boyish voice, waking up Alice from her drowsy trance as she mumbled to herself about a 'good dream' and sneering at the loudmouthed hero before noticing Luther approach with Angel Halo in hand.

"Finally decided to show up? Took you long enough, it's not like there is a time-sensitive issue going on…no…and here I was thinking you'd finally runoff." The Monster Lord japed much to the chagrin of Luka and Luther. She suspiciously eyed the eldritch blade in his hands. "Not much where you'd be able to run away with that in your hands."

"Come on Alice, it's not like we were going anywhere that soon and I'm sure it was important someway, look there is a smile on his face already." Luka pointed out making his older companion consciously feel the slight subtle curvature of his lips, taking in the fake hero's words. Perhaps he was right, maybe he did feel better, and he was certainly calmer. As it turns out the company of hundreds of angels made you feel less lonely, funnily enough.

"Still, you made me wait. I'll find a way to get some payback…" Alice grumbled and then yawned, truth to say there wasn't much to be angry about, except the interruption of her journey into Neverland and Luka's overly preppy attitude that always seemed to want to combat her own. They were night and day – his optimism versus her cynicism, always like this no matter how many times she teased or brought him showing the darkness of this world such as this village

"Here, thanks for letting me borrow them." Luther rolled his eyes, ignoring Alice, lightly handing the prison sword to the fake hero whose face scrunched, but the thick shade kept most of his facial features from betraying the emotions hidden within the boy. The fake hero promptly shook his head along with any suspicion, attaching Angel Halo's sheath to his belt. He felt no need to ask for what reason to ask why Luther needs the strange sword - trust was enough, although Luka's lending did not go unnoticed by Alice.

"What were you doing with Angel Halo? Last time I remember you aren't a swordsman unless that's another skill that you've been hiding for some reason? And you Luka, why didn't you tell me about this sooner, you had most of the evening to do so?" Alice curiously fired off her questions stunning both of them into silence, she doubted whether it was anything too dangerous, Luther wasn't a character that was purposely evil, secretive but not malicious even good-hearted sometimes. Yet with manners dealing with Angel Halo and him, it being lent in secrecy, something far too common for Luther, she couldn't help but suspect foul play.

"Ah! don't look at me like that!" Luka raised his arms in defense from her studying gaze he hated so much, whatever he requested was unlikely to be granted, especially now, however, he held no regrets in giving Luther his sword, the increase in his older companion's mood was astonishing, gone was the miserable man replaced by someone more confident. The fake hero felt no need to reveal their rather personal talk, bitter words weren't needed for either of them even if the chance that the lamia was so cold-hearted was so small. "It was just the spur of the moment thing, I didn't ask why he needed it. "

 _Sorry about this..._ Luka inwardly cursed as her gaze shifted towards Luther, somehow appearing more inquisitive than before, understandably so since Chambers rarely showed interest in Angel Halo in fact at some point he could even say he avoided it yet this sudden behavior change brought questions, he could only hope Luther had an answer to them in a way that wouldn't disclose what happened.

"I wanted to study it – the material it was made up of and how it worked, not every day that you come across something like that, evidently I came back with little results." It wasn't exactly a lie this time, his constant questioning and conversations with the Angels could be called study under the right circumstances. Technicalities were the second-best only beaten by truth, so he took the best he could. He wondered if perhaps a small tease might settle her suspicious demeanor better. "Why are you so worried? You think I'd find a way to break it?"

"Hah! As if you could muster up the strength to do that, you'd have better luck declaring a rebellion against that pathetic goddess and surviving than putting a single dent in it." She mockingly laughed. The expression on her face lit up, though what Luther heard wasn't exactly pleasant to know, he hoped it was part of the joke. He sincerely did. "Seriously, even with my full power, I am unable to so much as scratch it."

 _Oh, oh shit…what am I going to do now?_ Luther frowned; the news didn't shock him as it could have, in sheer hindsight it was to be expected. Being crafted from unknown powerful materials made to contain hundreds of angelic beings created by one of the most powerful angels in this world's existence, it was no wonder the damn container was so resilient, its selective intangibility also didn't help to make it more fragile.

"Wait, really?! Who even made this weapon?" Luka exclaimed loudly, in shock, it was almost unthinkable that Alice had an object some who practically oozed power like her couldn't even scratch, let alone destroy it.

"Actually, I don't exactly know," Alice admitted as she frowned. That little piece of information always slipped her by after learning of its inner intricacies. No matter who any older Monster refused to answer her about its origin and all she was left with was rumors. "All I know is that it was created a long time ago by a powerful figure, the name of which I have not heard once, it could have been a Monster, a Human, or maybe even an Angel."

Luka glanced to the blade, his face scrunched up remembering the particular detail of what its materials were and the bone-chilling moans and groans of pain that echoed once he first held it. Curiously they stopped after a while, but its existence was disturbing. "Whoever they were, they must have been very cruel to make this…well at least it can be put to good use, right?"

 _Luka…you have no idea what just said, getting called cruel by a child you sacrificed your life to shelter and protect…Lucifina's rolling in her grave right now._ Luther grimaced from his remark almost letting his figure slump down in sheer disbelief as he refused to blink for even a second while deeply staring at the boy. Worst of all he thought, the trapped angels knew who sealed them inside and most held hatred for their older sibling, some were still in great despair and the others left felt tired, long wearing out their contempt over the decades. The man could only hope they never figure out Luka's identity, their hatred could be rekindled if that were to ever occur and the end may not be so pleasant to witness. _Thankfully that ring is keeping his Angel powers sealed…wait, no…Shit!_

"Chu." Tusk's presence entered his mind only confirming his assumption, he was never really alone, it would pose problems if Tusk was part of him.

 _I don't doubt they wouldn't be able to sense it once he goes unconscious in combat, he would hand over one piece of the puzzle required figure that Lucifina's is his family. But can I even keep them from knowing, a simple mention of her name from Luka's lips, and it will end terribly._ Chambers let out a small groan and rubbed his face.

"Oh, sweet child… you have no idea how the world really is, how adorable." The purple lamia said in faux gentleness pinching his cheeks like he was some adolescent; he furrowed his brows lightly trying to push her hands away. "I don't know whether to be jealous or pity you."

"Maybe it wasn't cruelty, but rather a necessity that drove them to this." Chambers proposed, particularly remembering a detail they brought up, a detail some of them heard from the seraphim –an apology, something which couldn't have been from an unapologetically sadistic action, but he doubted that fact calmed the angels one bit.

"Entirely possible, it is the strongest weapon around, all in my possession." Alice boasted her regular smirk returning to her face. "Be glad I let you use it, even the likes of Heinrich relied on Angel Halo's strength."

"T-the Le-legendary Hero Heinrich u-used this?!" Luka suddenly squeaked out in an extremely high-pitched voice, his eyes swinging wide open as he unsheathed the unholy blade which eyes meet him flashing, now marveling at its glory like a small child that got a brand new toy, he couldn't believe that he was holding such an important artifact – a weapon of his idol figure. Some of the villagers' attention was drawn in by the sputtering excitement he exuded. "Haa...oh!~"

"Jeez, calm down before you faint," Alice advised, patting him on the back, she couldn't help but smile from this childish display, though his hectic hyperventilation was beginning to make the boy too bright red for their tastes. "Breath…one…two, there we go…"

She pulled up two fingers in front of his face. "Now tell me how many fingers am I holding?"

"Two," Luka whispered, his voice still raspy from his mouse-like squeaking and rapid breathing, having calmed down and having gained even more respect he gently put the sword neatly back into its scabbard. In their excitement, they failed to notice that those few last stretches of sunlight had already left them along with locals beginning to subtly and slowly approach them.

 _They were listening to all of that, great…_ Luther sarcastically remarked, glancing around and spotting one of them get closer than the rest, she was a bit older looking than her peers but her stride and stance gained more confidence.

"Eh…excuse me I'm sorry to interrupt…whatever you were doing, but isn't it the right time to begin? Every one of us is ready" Her question brought the rest of his friend's attention to their surroundings, Luka awkwardly coughed and shuffled around in the meanwhile Alice was unfazed staring into the darkened sky.

"Mhm, yes it would seem so…" She curtly responded, turning back to Luka and Luther without saying another word, many of the villagers gathered even closer awaiting the time to finally strike as they whispered amongst each other, nervously gripping on to their improvised weaponry. "Well, time for your little suicide mission…"

"Oh, right, hehe." Luka nervously chuckled rubbing away the sweat on his forehead, in truth he was both excited and scared of the outcome, even with Alice's own advice the possibilities were still unpredictable in the end, anything could happen. Fate had its way of constantly proving mortals wrong.

"I'm perfectly ready. " The stand user put his arm on his purple-haired companion's shoulder reassuringly." Don't worry about it Luka, I'll have your back."

While his assurance made the Monster Lord roll her eyes, the fake hero straightened out into a more confident posture, his main hand on the hilt firmly grasping it. Luka stepped forward past Alice and scanned through the crowd, everyone has armed themselves as best they could, although lacking armor and skill their size won't prove to be a substantial enough force by itself, that's where he and Luther came in, and based on the wariness he could sympathize with they knew this as well.

"Let's head on further to the east, just don't push yourself please." The purple-haired boy called out to the people moving forward with their plan, a strenuous wariness filled the air as some of them did not share the same confidence as their others or the fake hero, but followed after regardless.

The trek there wasn't physically difficult or demanding, just that with every step taking one couldn't help but feel pessimistic, nighttime and rather morbid scenery that the forest took on didn't aid in soothing their nerves. Something so basic as a cooing of an owl or faint buzzing of insect wings heard plainly as they silently marched toward the winged monster village kept them on their toes, some paranoia gripped their hearts. Luther remained fairly composed, taking Luka's right side, his sixth sense, and Tusk pushing away that paranoia and telling him no enemies were around, but still kept his hands on his steel balls. Stars that illuminated the dark sky brought comfort and reminded him of his powers, he idly wondered in his fast-paced walk what the connection was, was his Tusk capable of more?

Luka followed the villagers ahead of them; he was less twitchy than before. There wasn't a clear path to the Harpy Village, he had no bearing on the specific location and so had to rely on the guidance of his fellow humans, although he quietly speculated if Alice was capable of sniffing them out, with how much she boasted about her capabilities it seemed obvious. He glanced to his left, Alice- his monstrous companion appeared untouchable as always, unbothered by anything, she was in no real threat whatsoever.

They stopped for a moment, but it was not to catch their breath. On the horizon they spotted the shoddy, barely existent fortification made of large wooden palisades that were scattered about in different sets varying in quantity, small huts were rested on the trees surprising being held by tall branches, from their small view no harpy or man was left awake. No one seemed to be aware of their arrival.

"This is it, a little bit further and you'll come into the harpy village." A girl pointed to one of the many open entrances, Luka took a deep breath and nodded, but Luther was faster to step forward.

"Let's try to get this over with…" Luther said, the tone of hastiness was noticeable to them all, he had no intention of delaying this any further. That is to say, it wasn't like desired a complete disregard of caution, the man believed there was a time and place for everything and right now a balance was needed – too fast and the harpies will wake up from their carelessness, too slow and sunlight will do the job for them.

"Right, we'll go defeat the leader and then send the signal, you can all gather a bit closer, I think. Once she is defeated and they're all left panicking I'm counting on you." Luka summarized the plan once again for them and for his own sake, he didn't exactly count how many times he repeated it in his mind, but he was sure it was a lot. The steps sounded simple enough, but their execution would prove to be challenging, the only comfort he had in this endeavor was Luther's presence and Angel Halo's power.

"Be careful, if it's too dangerous, run away!" They recommended him as if his small traitorous thoughts weren't enough, still was the only chance they had, he couldn't imagine what would happen if he failed – they'd all be figured out, and…he shook his head, ridding himself of that outcome.

"If we fail, please…run away yourselves." The last thing Luka wanted was to further endanger them than they already have done, charging into a monster village even if their leader and guardian were beaten was still a risk for someone like them. He took a step forward to meet Luther's side. "Alright, I'm off."

Before he could take another step, a tug on his shirt stopped him dead in his tracks, it was Alice with what was for the first time Luka was seeing a concerned expression, directed at none other than him. "Hey, Luka…make sure you come back. Don't lose in a place like this. Put that training to good use."

"I won't lose!" He instinctively promised and blinking, stopping for a moment to confirm what he heard, and yet she said another thing that stunned him, nearly leaving his mouth agape in surprise. He had never anticipated her to behave like this, but to say that concern was unpleasant would be lying for him.

"And you Luther, watch yourself out there and keep him safe, I'll be observing." She finished closing her eyes, to this, she only got a silent nod, a strange attentive stare that ended in a shrug as the pint-sized hero and the Spin user non-verbally agreed to charge ahead, seemingly thinking in a single mind.

* * *

Luka and Luther were now alone with fresh cold air rushing past them as they ran as quietly as they could, taking careful measures to not step on anything that could make a noise, they were only accompanied by each other and whatever animals, birds, or bugs hid in the forest. They jumped over any log or rock that was in the way, trees were easy enough to avoid, all of that training didn't disappear anywhere. The cover of night was the only ally that would stay by them for the entirety of this raid as they would be but two black blurs amongst many other dark silhouettes.

Their quick pace however didn't last long as they approached one of the fornications, their bodies forcing them to take in more air to feedback the oxygen lost over their sudden decision to dash leaving them free to speak, the opening to the village was getting so close.

"I never quite imagined she'd speak with genuine concern and sincerity..." Luka mentally stumbled over, searching for the right words to put his thoughts. "It's just uh…ah…"

"Unexpected. What, you'd rather have her constantly tease and berate you?" Luther glanced around, he didn't sense Alice anywhere nearby yet, so he let his tongue slip a bit. "Everybody has multiple sides to them. You just have to spend some more time to get to know them better, some people take time to open up."

"You know, it's good when she is nice sometimes, it's like her bitterness makes those moments special like you've earned something…I think?" Luka unassuredly said with a shrug as they both squeezed through a hole in palisade walls, finally entering properly entering the village, the details they spotted earlier becoming clearer even in the nighttime. Barely any sounds reached their ears save for the forest ambiance, quiet enough to hear their own breathing.

On closer inspection their houses were huts of varying sizes perched atop trees which were stronger than expected, they looked basic at least compared to the homes of Happiness Village, some of them only had thatching as their roofs, certainly, nothing looked permanent here and if not for the ladders shoddily attached to the trees it wouldn't be possible for any human without good climbing skills to head up there.

"What makes you say that?" Luther asked peering around the corner spotting some more huts, they both knew what to look for, the largest hut housed the queen.

"I don't know…pilgrims tend to visit our village to stop by and trade since we're close to the Temple. I always get to speak to them, get some piece of advice for training, or just general small talk. They often tell me some heroic tales or what happens outside the continent. One of them was a poet…maybe, she spouted some fancy lines, didn't really listen to them…" Luka sheepishly admitted, letting out a small but nervous chuckle. "But one line struck to me, something about a flower that blooms once a year being more beautiful than an eternal one, it sort of fits, don't you think?"

A loud crack, unfortunately, resounded through the monster settlement as Luther cursed, in his carelessness, he stepped on a lone stick as if it was placed directly in his path. "Damn, should watch my feet a little more…anyway, I could see a striking similarity between what the poet said and Alice, although is it that rare that she shows some kindness toward you?"

"I wouldn't say rare, she has already done so much for an 'observer', her training has helped me improve than I ever did in my life, even if she is a bit of a cruel teacher, she challenges my thinking and corrects me sometimes and it's still hard to believe she handed a weapon that my favorite hero wielded." The fake hero responded, still feeling excited goosebumps run up his arms as he gripped the hilt of the cursed blade, his mind being reminded of many of the legendary hero's escapades and his tall tales.

"You really think Heinrich wielded Angel Halo?" Though knowing what Alice told Luka was the truth, he still had a hard time believing that

"Remember when you talked about everybody having multiple sides?" The purple-haired boy smirked at his older companion. "Well a little detail I managed to figure out, she never seems to lie when she is boasting, I don't exactly know why…maybe it's because of her pride not letting her."

"See? You're getting somewhere." As Luther finished his sentence he spotted the thin outline of what was the largest house he had seen in this small village, it had the appearance of a permanent residence as well with some exits and entrance that any winged creature could easily fly into, the tree was a type of oak, comparably massive and its branches were thick enough to support many of the huts they passed along.

"Chu, Chu." Tusk emerged from his side, pointing behind him, senses raged in his head –informing him of the two energy signatures approaching them, possibly still oblivious to their presence, and he hoped it would stay that way a bit longer. _There still might some harpies awake, do we hide or fight? They might still smell us out, best we seal them off quickly. We only have one chance at this, no saving and loading…_

"There it is I can see it." The man pointed to the large shelter, his companion squinted and then glanced around comparing the size to the other buildings in place. Luther bit his lip, the more he waited the closer those harpies got them – it was only a matter of time till they're found out, no point in hiding now, he needed a way to notify his friend of the incoming danger without drawing suspicion. "Still this isn't over yet, keep your guard up, who knows what's lurking in the shadows and I don't mean Alice."

Luka fiercely nodded, drawing out Angel Halo from within its small scabbard beginning to wearily look around only to spot two figures emerging from the shade, with a simple tap from the elbow he alerted his friend, a presence that was most comforting in this mission. He swung his head to the side, the rest of his body closely following suit as two strange figures entered his vision the fake hero gripped his sword tightly.

"That is…" Luka started, awareness increasing tenfold. The two faint silhouettes remained shrouded in darkness much like them, but he could discern a most obvious physical trait – fluffy wings that could only belong to the harpies in this region.

"Yep." Luther continued staring, neither of them made a single move as if their inaction would make them blend into their surroundings, however, reality did not follow the whims of simple mortal wishes, no environment around to protect them, no being that wanted or could save them, only pure agonizing silence as the heroes saw the monsters get closer and closer knowing the only course of action they could take is preparing for battle. Their only hope was that the aftermath was left silent.

"I swear I heard some noise there sis! Do you think somebody is escaping?" A very squeaky juvenile girl's voice coming from the smaller figure edging closer to them only shattered what little hopeful doubt trapped within their skulls, details suddenly became clear as day revealing a much younger pink feathered harpy and an older brown feathered one with a more preannounced body.

 _Now this reminds me of something, a_ _ **stand**_ _off, just with less posing and stands…where's that cool anime music when you need it?_ A more witty part of Luther's mind tried its best to make him smile with its fruitless attempt at humor, however, the other part worked quickly to devise a plan of combat, to take them out quickly before they could call the others. _Getting swarmed right now would be a bad idea, the only way to escape unscathed then would be to go full-lethal._

The Spin user shivered at the thought, it was hard to imagine doing anything with those nails of his to these people despite their transgressions, and some of them were children….

"Now, now, let's not be hast-"The older sister made a hard stop as her distracted attention became a razor-sharp focus as her eyes met the two men ahead of them. Both groups were left at a shocked standstill, with both of them carefully observing each other, waiting for anyone to break the nerve-wracking stillness.

"Oh look at that, I was right!" The younger sister giggled, bouncing around with infectious joy, flapping her rather pinkish large wings revealing that she was wearing no clothes to both of the males much to their dismay.

"No, not exactly, they're not from here…" Her older sibling however didn't share that demeanor fully, they were strangers, armed much like the rest of those so-called adventures that came here, but unlike them…perhaps it was simply the night covering them all that was giving this strange sensation that they were more dangerous and competent, not easy prey. Even the purple-haired boy, who appeared adorable, had this predatory glare scanning for any sign of weakness seen on many of her fellow monsters, the terrifying blade in his hands did not help the case of calming her. Worst of all was his older companion, that cold apathetic stare of his sent shivers down her soul, something just wasn't right with the man.

"Ooh…does that mean they're free to take?" However there was a disconnect between her and her sister, that child-like excitement had only increased, opting to completely ignore the strained reactions of their unexpected company.

"Yes, they are sis…" She shook her head, dismissing her traitorous doubts, maybe it was just the dark and they were as weak as the previous interlopers, her bubbly and youthful sibling certainly felt that way.

An innocent giggle came from the pink-feathered harpy, she pointed over to Luka with a wide smile, a strange mix of deviousness and innocence was beheld within it. "Then I'll take that one!" Her enthusiasm had finally managed to break through to her older sister whose doubtful countenance faded into a soft lecherous smile direct at the cold man who returned

"It's never too early to learn how to catch a man, guess our little intruders had the same idea. I think I'll have his friend.. I'll show you a direct example and maybe brighten up that sad sad expression…" They unabashedly exchanged remarks and tips unaware that their prey was listening in, discussing their own plans.

"For the sake of the mission, take them out quickly and without hesitation, they'll likely still not call their fellow harpies at this point…" Luther made a loud click with his tongue and sighed, his expression remaining unmoving for the whole duration except for a spark of bitterness and sorrow at that offhand comment about his face. Monsters were getting too predictable. "Because they most likely want us for themselves."

"What makes you say that? They could still call for help." Luka's hands rapidly shifted around Angel Halo, holding it more comfortably, imagining a battle between them and an entire horde of Harpies including their leader didn't give his thoughts any ease. A chance is still a chance no matter how minuscule so the idea of rushing them sounded appealing if a bit unchivalrous.

"Simple deduction from the way they're talking about us, and your worry is the exact reason why I want to charge and take them out quickly, sooner we do it, the less risk there is." Luther calmly whispered in his regular cold tone, though Luka could still sense the same unease within Luther that existed in him as well. The boy hoped his friend possessed some plan to defeat them without alerting anyone else as elementary as it might have been and it seemed his prayers were answered. "Those harpies don't look experienced, especially that young one…"

"And?" Luka sucked in a breath in anticipation, waiting for his hard-hearted friend to elaborate further. Several fireflies flew around in a bright dance.

"Divide and conquer, my friend. Divide and conquer." Luka looked like he was about even inquiry further as to what he meant, but he decided to preface before the fake hero opened his mouth. "We each charge one of them with that we separate them, making them weaker. I doubt they can put up a fight alone." What he said next was done in cold logic, but nonetheless sent shivers down Luka's spine with how unfeeling he sounded, not a single faint sign of pity or mercy in his words was left. "The kid is easy pickings, should be sealed within at least two hits from Angel Halo while the other might take more, so you-"

"Charge the young one and you take the older one." The purple-haired boy finished with a grimace letting out a small ground, staring at his soon-to-be opponent, whose bubbliness made it even harder to accept what he was about to do, but it sounded logical enough – shatter the weakest link. He preferred to face someone more competent like the older sister. However, he knew perfectly well that complaining and having preference was not an option here.

Luka pushed through an optimistic smile whispering back. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine with that." No longer did Luther act as a safety measure, for now, they fought as equals, and between seeing his friend's capabilities, fighting alongside him, and having a weapon Heinrich used in his possession all this time, he didn't know what to be giddier about. Luka could almost start bouncing around from excitement like a giddy child who just got his hand in the cookie jar, if weren't for the immense pressure his responsibilities put on him this would've been the best day in his life.

No more words were spoken as they nodded to each other, turning to their assailants, both took the appearance of nightly predators within its dark shade, a shame they failed to notice it. Spin surged through Luther's legs vibrating, bouncing from his muscles to the hard ground, they lit up, being cloaked in starlight which matched the serene and mysterious night sky. _Remember -keep the charge low, don't want to repeat the Granberia incident, not here._

"Ready?"

"Ready." As soon as Luka uttered his piece both of their shoes immediately lifted off from the dirt, launching them forward becoming mere barely visible blurs, living projectiles. Chambers took the lead with superior speed and power flowing through his appendages. He lunged at his target.

"Here's ho- ah!" The older Harpy was cut off from finishing her advice by Luther suddenly leaving her breathless and sharp and numb pain in her stomach. Great force forced her talons to fly into the air following suit after her body, and wings spread out in an instinctual attempt to glide in the air and decelerate but failed to decrease their speed. It was too fast for her to react, such strength she had never seen before in Humans, or anyone else besides the Queen in the village.

They both dropped into the ground, Luther using the Harpy as a cushion to soften the blow of the impact. She saw stars in her vision, not sure if they were a figment of her blunt trauma or real, her head hurt, felt like it was about to split, no emotions came to her except the sudden sting of pain and regret, they were left far enough away from her sibling. Her vision and hearing remained clouded, all that was left a The harpy couldn't move a single muscle, not from the weight on her body no…if she really wanted to she could have kicked him off easily, but it felt as though energy alien to her own ran through her, turning her legs, and arms against her, refusing to move even under the most desperate command.

"Let me go!" She would have shrieked out more were it not for the hand that had clamped around her mouth, sight began to become more available to her but still blurry, all she saw was the same man holding her down in a position she wouldn't have minded to be in under much different circumstance. The harpy eyed curiously and wearily at the glimmering starlight on his scarred face. Who knew that such strange beauty could hold such power? At the corner of vision past the gap between his arm and chest, she saw her sister…she should have listened to her first instinct and called for the Queen or any surrounding aid.

"Help me, sis!" Her younger sibling cried out being struck down by a bright purple shape that had sent her flying as well, now cornered, her back against the tree. The Bubbly Harpy from before was all but gone, changed into a naked cowering pained mess against a hero who was constantly whispering and muttering apologies in a quivering tone. The fake hero approached her in an unbalanced gait, eyes stained with nothing more than pity.

"Pl-please don't k-kill me …" She begged, her weak voice barely audible to the boy through her thick pink feathered wings.

"N-no hesitation…sorry..." Luka remorsefully raised his blade, preparing to deliver the final blow, his hand shook slightly at her freighted gaze. This was the end for her, all at the hands of one she saw as a possible husband.

 _Get off, get off, please don't do this!_ Sororal instincts kicked within in the older one, she tried writhing and shaking off the man on top of her just to only be able to move her shoulders in a hopeless attempt at rolling him off, all to protect her sister, potential mates didn't matter when the actual family was in danger, but it was all for nothing, no amount of sheer determination or strength helped her push through and take her sister side, to prevent her death, and that soul-piercing glare of her opponent mocked her efforts the most - she failed as an older sister, as a guide to this world.

 _This isn't good…more noise and they'll surely wake up. Damn it Luka take out that raving pipsqueak quickly before it's too late!_ Chambers released a minuscule growl, checking back to the winged monster he was holding. Liquid ran down his left hand covering it before he noticed…she. The man felt his soul dip into the murky waters that were sympathy, he understood her desperation – the harpy did not know how Angel halo worked. He and Luka were not defending anyone anymore, there was no little child to save from an abduction, they were the invaders now about to seemingly kill one of her loved family members right in front of her, anyone worth a damn would try to fight, same as her.

 _I promised myself that I won't do anything I will regret, and then this happens. You're not making things easy for yourself._ Luther stared down at his catch, rough exterior letting up a slight bit, arms becoming lax. _They're not going to suffer from permanent damage, just a…shake-up, but this doesn't make it any better._

"Relax, your sister is not going to die, the sword doesn't kill." She shook her head in disbelief and contempt as tears continued to roll down his hand onto her chin. Luther sighed and moved his right hand around her waist, lifting her as he stabilized his legs on the ground, turning to his young companion who was about to deliver the coup de grace. He tightened his hold on her shaking body as Spin increased in its surge to strain the muscles. "She will be sealed into some bird, safe and sound, your Queen should easily be able to release her back to her old self after we are done negotiating."

The fake hero let his blade fall like a guillotine as a muffled scream he could barely hear echoed behind him, his juvenile opponent turned into a bright light which dissolved into pixels leaving behind a tiny confused pink bird which looked up at the purple-haired boy, fear being replaced by confusion and wonder. She jumped around in the tall grass, stretching her wings before glancing at her captive sister.

"See completely fine," Luther said, observing the small bird fly over and land on her sister's left shoulder, chirping along the way, she nuzzled into her cheek. He felt the older harpy relax in his grasp, no longer screaming into his palm, but it was not the end of his annoyances as the pink bird flew over to him and furiously started pecking his face, though not being able to do so much scratch with its weak beak. Chambers groaned hastily moving forward toward his travel companion. "Come on Luka, the faster you seal her, the faster we can go find the Queen. We can't waste any time."

Luka nodded with more conviction walking to Luther and aiming Angel Halo at the brown-feathered Harpy's open chest, all that was needed was a little thrust and it would go inside her heart – a killing blow with any normal weapon. He looked at the Harpy's countenance, she had the same expression as her younger sisters did, one who flew into his face, interrupting his positioning and making him needlessly wave around the chunk of eldritch material to scare her off.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't hurt, but expect a feeling of weakness." The man calmly reassured the Monster in his hands, Luka and Luther once again exchanged nods and at that moment the fake hero plunged Angel Halo right through the monster's heart. She vanished into a slightly larger bird with a flash of light, falling gliding to the ground without the support of her captor holding her up.

"Again, sorry about this, we can't risk you running away unsealed and waking everyone up…we only need to meet with your Queen." Luka apologized, doing a polite short bow to both of the sealed Monsters.

"Exactly, we don't want to hurt or kill anyone here," Luther added, his cold voice taking a more concerned tone, he saw how both transformed birds eased up. "So please, leave us to our business, we promise we have no ill will toward this village," They considered his request quietly, singing a song between each other that only they could understand, after a minute they flew away into the night leaving Luther and Luka relatively alone.

"Somehow this ended up being both worse and better than I expected," Luka remarked in a tired voice, they moved on coming closer to their destination – the Harpy Queen's supposed home.

"You're not alone in feeling this…what's done is done, if we let them run away, they would have most likely called for help…chances of them listening are low since we, in their eyes, 'attempted to kill them' ." Luther sharply pointed out, wiping away the salty tears still left on his hand, he gave an absentminded stare to his surroundings. A moment of oddly painful silence passed between them.

"Do you think what we're doing is right?" Luka quietly asked, returning the unholy blade into its scabbard, shakiness in his voice from before remaining.

Chambers stopped dead in his tracks, his frown returning to a more neutral expression, yet his attention seemed caught on something else, too distracted to look at the boy ahead of him. Regrets will do no good right now, he knew this well. "Don't tell me you're reconsidering this, we're so close to finishing this, do you want to be caught, or better yet, what are going to tell the villagers? To pack up and leave? I know what we did wasn't exactly kind, but we have no other choice but to continue.

"I know, I know, it's just…" The fake hero stared at his trembling hands, hopelessly chuckling a little before rubbing his face and swallowing the lump in his throat. "That small harpy… I met her eyes once, and she looked at me with so much fear… I hesitated," He sighed, through the gaps of his finger he spied Luther taking his side, feeling a reassuring arm on his shoulder blade. "I'm supposed to be a hero, but I feel like a villain…maybe there is some other way to solve this mess."

"You mean like an actual negotiation," Luther suggested to which Luka nodded in response. " That's possible, but at this point, it's not up to us to decide if that's a possibility, the Queen's disposition on our trespassing will determine how we act, but if that's what you want, we'll try that first for your and everyone else's sake."

"Right, we'll do that, we can make things better!" The fake hero stood more confidently than before, making his regularly mute friend chuckle at his new grandiosity.

Luther and Luka stepped foot near the large tree that housed the Queen's nest, a multitude of ladders led up to several different entrances; unlike most of the town, this appeared to have its structure more permanently built – the privilege of being a leader was evident. A complete home invasion was out of the question for the two men, not only could that soil their chances of peaceful negotiation, but Luther knew better as well…the Harpy Queen wasn't sleeping. Her bland energy signature paced around from corner to corner of a room, almost as if she was waiting for them, despite his outsider knowledge this still felt like a bad omen.

"Let's try knocking politely," Luka suggested, already walking closer to one of the ladders, but before he reached them or Chambers could stop him a loud sound of a door slamming open up above disturbed them off their uneasy nightly peace.

The travelers hesitantly glanced to the house's main door, where she was standing with a composed frown on her face – the Harpy Queen. Her appearance compared to that of her underlings was much more regal. From her silk clothes and gold jewelry – an ornate circlet on her head, a red gem necklace, and blue gem bracelet, to her very body features – multi-shade colored feathers that were extremely fluffy in comparison to the others, long locks of light purple hair and piercing green eyes capable of cutting into the souls of men, befitting of a queen.

"So, you're the leader of the harpies?" Luka inquired, deeply hoping for the sake of time and his sanity that was true, he didn't care how strong she looked or what she was capable of. All that mattered was being able to peacefully speak with her.

She perked her head up indignantly. "Yes, I am the ruler of this village and you two are the invaders, I can already assume what you want from me."

Luther grimaced, hiding away his arms into his coat and preparing the rotation of his steel balls. _She already knows we've sneaked into her village, this isn't good…wonder what else does she know, did those harpies tell on us already?_

"We want you to release the men your people have captured and have them returned to Happiness Village." The fake hero confirmed her assumption while his fingers cautiously danced around the hilt of Angel Halo, making her frown intensify. "If you keep this up, humans will never be able to peacefully live with monsters."

"It is because humans aren't able to peacefully live with monsters that we are forced to do this, my village cannot exist without men, this is something of critical importance to us as well." The harpy queen explained, she silently blamed it all on the religion that had deeply rooted itself into the continent, the reason why men were so prudish when it came to Monsters. Despite her unmoving presence, she looked as if she was about to attack them at any moment; another reason given was all that was needed for her to strike…

"Yes, yes, we have heard that one before many times," Luther responded in a quiet dismissive tone, shaking his head and sighing, his actions only slighting her more. His next words gave her pause "But don't you think it's the same for Happiness Village, after you take the last man from there, they'll cease to exist as well as, no Humans will want to move there because of your village being close, to save the one you'll doom another village."

"Are you really that cold-hearted, to let a village die out like that?" Luka asked, his cute tone of voice could pull the heartstrings of men and women, though the harpy before them had long hardened her heart with righteous anger to face them.

"Unfortunately, It's either them or us that, and as the leader and guardian of my people I cannot let this village fall, the humans on this continent will not be willing to mate with us regardless of what we do, so why does it matter?" She irately replied, crossing her wings as she stared them down, not completely sure of why she hasn't dealt with them –they were nothing but rats to her, that sought to end her by sneaking in the middle of the night, they knew nothing of how many times her people were refused, from Sentora to the so-called "Ilias" continent.

"I have full knowledge of the faith here," Luther started; the Harpy Queen waited impatiently of what more he had to say. "Yet, do you not think even for a moment that the constant kidnapping had given enough reason by itself not to have them interact with your people, have you not tried to speak with them before deciding to let your Harpies run about randomly taking people?" Chambers promptly shut his mouth afterward, dreading her reaction, he did not doubt that his words would seem antagonizing and accusatory to the already agitated Monster, but still, he felt an unreasonable urge to point it out.

Her eyes twitched at his question, she gritted her teeth, they truly had no idea of the struggle she went through to settle here and keep her town afloat. "Enough of this pointless talk!" The Harpy Queen shouted, flapping her powerful wings that blew a gust of wind toward them.

"Wait, hold on…I'm sure we can still come to a reasonable conclusion." The purple-haired boy tried to speak up but was shut down by another audible holler, her talons scratched at the bark of tree branches.

"I do not have to reason with you!" She fumed, angrily listing off all of their transgression against the Harpy Village. "You have trespassed into this village, attack my subjects and one of my harpies is missing…and it can't just be a coincidence."

"In case you haven't noticed, you're the ones that attacked first, whatever reason it was, however valid it was, it does not change that fact. This is merely a counterattack –you can't say you weren't expecting someone more competent to show up after all this time." Luther felt an elbow slam into the side of his chest; he glanced at the culprit – Luka who looked at him with a shocked expression and a headshake, all that that the boy wanted was for his friend to shut his snarky mouth, a first for him.

"Don't, please…" Luka took his friend aside, his voice proved to further cement the regret building within him now, his made points didn't help at all soothe the anger. "You promised that we would negotiate and I know you didn't mean it." He said, drowning his friend deeper in guilt as stood frozen. "Remember our deal; I'll fight her, stay back." Luther took a couple of steps in compliance, keeping his hands on his spinning weapons.

The harpy queen dropped down to meet face to face with the pint-sized hero "You would fight a queen alone?" She walked forward assertively with a permanent glare directed at them both. "Are you conceited or just that idiotic?"

"Why are you complaining, would you rather fight both of us at the same time?" Luther asked, no doubt in his mind that it might come to this conclusion, but if Luka sought to prove himself further he would not intervene. "Besides, I cannot guarantee you'll come out of this confrontation alive with me around unlike my friend, and we don't want to kill anyone here." As he uttered those words the fake hero drew out Angel Halo before the ruler, who stopped in her approach, staring right into the cursed sword.

"Ah…I see. Then let me show you the power of the Queen of Harpies." She started spreading her wings out, the atmosphere around them took a more oppressive tone, yet her flaming anger turned to something more smoldering, perhaps she overestimated how malicious they truly were if they had 'that' in your possession and full knowledge of it worked. "Do you know that punishment for your crimes is rape, and possibly, death depending on what you've done with my missing subject?"

"I will personally oversee your punishment."

 _Great…she knows what we did, explains why she was so angry from the beginning, guess negotiation wasn't even on the table, to begin with…damn it…_ Luther frustrated, huffed, cautiously observing both of their battle stances. _At least Luka can get some more battle experience, probably should've just shut up and offered some peace deal, or maybe not…maybe it was all pointless to try...guess we have to do it the good old fashion way._ He noted the quantity of the Harpy Queen's energy, it was much larger than Luka's, yet its flow was restrained, she was still holding back on the boy.

"Hyah!" Luka didn't waste any words in response, instead, jumping right at her and attempting to slash at her throat, his speed was impressive enough to catch her off guard managing to deeply graze her neck as she lifted off the ground. She winced, her eyes dulling slightly, getting hit by Angel Halo was a strange sensation. There was no regular pain, just a feeling of numbness and cold…colder than the night surrounding them all.

 _Wait, she is flying…this didn't happen in the story._ The older man's frown deepened, suspicion grew within him as his hand twitched on the holstered steel balls, glancing back to his fellow compatriot. _She is more pissed off than in canon, of course, she wouldn't hold back as much, let's hope Luka's dogging can make up for it, if not…_ Luther unbuttoned one of the steel, letting glide in his hand. He had no real desire to fight the Harpy Queen, her actions were ultimately pragmatic, not born out of any malicious intent for Happiness Village, and damaging the Queen may prove to be problematic once actual negotiations come…if it even comes.

"You are an impressive swordsman, to be able to use a technique like that. I dread to think of the one who taught such a skill." The Harpy Queen remarked, as a high-ranking monster she recognized the skill – Demon Decapitation, a Cursed Sword technique, created by and for Monster use. Many Monsters that practiced with a blade first learned this simple skill after learning the general basics. Yet, in her entire life, she had only witnessed a handful of humans use such skills, but never with this much proficiency and for good reason, it proved to be too physically demanding for them.

"Perhaps, you were not as arrogant as I imagined, having that sword in your possession and knowledge of the Cursed Sword Arts you truly are special…however, on my pride as a queen and for the sake of my people I will not allow you to win this bout." She proclaimed and flopped her wings, sending a large gust of wind to the fake hero.

Luka's legs remained stable, enduring and opposing the large force. _Damn, she is flying just like that previous harpy and I can bet she faster too…oh what are you doing Luka, fighting a queen alone?_ Luka grimaced, he could already tell that he no doubt be forced into a defensive position, not something his style of the fight was prepared to deal with as explained by Alice in one of their training sessions.

The harpy queen flew toward him, mustering up great speed. Luka however faced faster opponents in the form of a very powerful harpy and cautiously slashed Angel Halo right at her so that she would inevitably meet it if she continued her attack while still keeping it close. _This probably the best way to fight her…I can wear her down with Angel Halo, right?_

She smirked as she lunged past it and to his side, seemingly flanking him. Her sharp eyes winded as they met another defensive strike from her opponent forcing her to fly far back away from him, she intensively gazed at his Fool's guard, he was baiting her in...The nerve… _Very fast for a human, I can understand why however was his teacher wanted him to learn the Cursed Sword techniques, but he is at a disadvantage – I can fly and he should know well that fighting style doesn't do well on defense compared to something more traditional, this battle should be over fast, I simply need to overwhelm him…that shouldn't be hard to do against a Human._

The winged monster knew what to do in response to his guard, once more she raised her wings flapping them to blow the gust of air, stronger than the one before. Luka's limbs froze stone-cold, only seeking to push to on the dirt below as hard as he could against the current which ripped away several large scraps of grass from the field, he stabbed his sword into the ground to gain further support against the wind's assault, praying for it to stop, the boy diverted his eyes to his opponent, lamenting what he saw.

 _She knew what I was trying to do…_ The harpy queen dived to him moments after the gust of wind stopped its attack, his muscles barely could move from their position to react properly at their current position, blade too low to aim to let her impale herself, and so jumped back and did a preemptive slash, but unsurprisingly even to himself he missed. She didn't relent charging the flanked hero, his blade did little to dissuade her of that decision. Soon enough Luka was forced to the ground by her, a position he was very familiar with, his opponent glanced at Luther who remained motionless, distracted even.

"Still, to even consider fighting a queen is far too brave, foolish, even with that sword…" Her right foot glided down from his chest to his pants attempting to proficiently undo the buckle on his belt all while slowly masterfully messaging his crotch, her other foot keeping him pinned. "Allow me to start punishing you, tell me do you enjoy this?"

"A-ah!" Luka moaned out from the pleasure pressure, all it took were several masterful strokes to make him hard. His arms were free to wave around fruitlessly to push the legs off finding out that this particular harpy was much sturdier than her lesser counterparts. The boy took a second to relax, staring into his opponents piercing and teasing eyes, an object poked his side – it was Angel Halo, at half hand's reach, blinking repeatedly once it entered his vision

"Is this all you can muster up, I'm disappointed…" She remarked, her frown turning into a smirk. "Oh, well you and your friend will make nice mates in this village, the quality of your scent is undeniable and strong too, still struggling." This didn't last long as she suspiciously eyed the cocky smile on his face, it was already too late before she noticed another peculiar detail.

"Got you right where I want you." He swung Angel Halo in his prone position, the large blade reaching and phasing through her abdomen as it sliced it through. She immediately flew up, shuddering from the sudden feeling of coldness, and lambasted her carelessness to leave Angel Halo so close to the boy, now they were back where they started, except her energy was now lower.

"Clever trick, don't think I'll fall for it again." She huffed, her breathing had become more labored as energy fled from her body, the harpy queen had heard of the sting that Angel Halo possessed, though she had never felt it before like this, except that little scratch on her neck that was a sample of what it was capable of. Sure, it felt like nothing for now, but if this continued…she wasn't sure if she would even have the energy left to go all out.

"Oh, yeah! I'm not counting on that again, truthfully I prefer to not be caught like that again." Luka bashfully admitted as he began circling the Harpy Queen, keeping his guard steady and his feet quick. He rushed to her sword ready to strip her of her power, with a thrusting motion he tried to stab her chest. She flew higher, far away from his reach.

They stared at each other, waiting for either of them to make a move

"That's not up to you to decide, is it?" She maliciously grinned, landing and spreading her wings far out, only making herself a large target for the boy, the atmosphere grew heavy with her energy. "Besides your body is telling me something different, you want it, come and get me…"

Luka stood still, weighing his option, he could charge once more and possibly reach in her time just before she could fly away, yet everything screamed that this was wrong to him – why was she standing still when their entire fight consisted of her flying and avoiding his attack? It was suspicious, very suspicious, as lucrative as attacking appeared, he could not risk being pinned or held by that Harpy, knowing she'd likely throw away

"I shouldn't attack, right?" The fake hero idly glanced at his weapon, the many disturbing crimson eyes moved up and down, almost imitating a frantic nod. Luka decided to take that as confirmation, still unsure whether or not his sword was sapient, preparing another cautious stance against the powerful monster. He couldn't make any mistake here; each one can prove costly, after everything he has been through getting beaten here without even getting onto Sentora would have been something he would never forgive himself for doing.

…

"Are you going to ignore my invitation?" She got her response in the form of him continuing to hold his stance and a steady nod. Perhaps she made it too obvious of a trap? The Harpy Queen had no worries, it was still worth a try, whatever kept him cautious it didn't matter, maybe he was just finally starting to understand who he was exactly facing. "You're pretty careful, for someone who has done such a reckless act - thoughtlessly attacking a queen.." She noted as she flew into the air once more – the natural environment of her people and the largest advantages she had over the fake hero.

"Shall we continue this farce?" The regal monster inquired and huffed flapping her strong but soft wings, the pressure on the atmosphere ever so slightly increased just more, she was only just above the ground.

"This fight won't last as long as you think it will." Luka charged right at her, his speed growing as he started to steadily approach his physical limit. He stabbed, this time aiming preemptively above, the cursed blade barely nicking her leg.

* * *

Time passed uneventfully, they were trapped in an eternal dance moving and maneuvering around each other, baiting any attack that they could exploit, neither one of them getting a lead into the battle only exchanging those very few scratches or soft messages, it was growing increasingly frustrating to both of them. The Harpy Queen stuck to the skies, where it best suited her leaving her young opponent no real way hurt her only to strike at the air, yet he wasn't lazy on his defense either, any time she attempted a pleasure attack she was met with a slash or stab that threatened to drain away from her energy, and any attack that could prove to actually knock him down was avoided.

Dodge, stab, push, dodge, stab, push, a pattern that never seemed to want to end, a torturous and tiring standstill that had to be broken by any means, they clashed and charged at each other many times, although their efforts were mostly useless, only serving to tire themselves out more. It was a war of attrition, one she couldn't even imagine a human being able to contend with her in such a contest of stamina.

 _Come on Luka, you can do it…_ Luther watched it all unfold from the sidelines, his hands on his hips as he impatiently tapped his foot on the green grass below, their bout was nerve-wracking for the man, he knew that any moment that Harpy could go all out and there would be no hope left for his friend. _If she fights with full strength, even I'm not sure I could take her on with lethal force, let's hope her arrogance hasn't run dry yet._ His fingernails were left spinning as if begging him to be unleashed upon his enemies in what he could call bloodlust. He felt Tusk manifest on his shoulder, nuzzling into his scarred flesh to comfort him and to push him away from that dark emotion.

 _Relax…relax…now only if they could do that!_ Luther glared at the battle, they were practically on a timer

"Just lose already!" The Harpy Queen growled using her wings to push gusts of wind toward Luka, who outran it, hiding behind a tree and letting take the brunt of the force. "You can't hide from me."

 _I know, but I can make you come to me._ Luka waited, holding Angel Halo tightly in his clutches and trying to catch his ragged breath, this was more tiring than Alice's sadistic training exercises, but without them, he wouldn't be able to last half the battle. It took a while, but he realized many of these trees were thick enough to provide cover from her wind attacks and give time to recover, even if it was a brief reprieve. A strange thing the boy could note as at her attacks fluctuated in a manner of haste and strength, sometimes he could get it – when he was using the more thinly plantlike for cover she held back mostly to not knock down her subject's homes, and at other times they were left unexplainable for the boy…

 _Need to finish this fast, this battle is getting too loud for my taste's_ Luka lamented, his opponent was growing progressively more annoyed at his evasive movements, not that he can blame her, he was dealing with the same problem after all. But their bout had grown from relatively silent and peaceful to loud and raucous, he couldn't deny that the "excitement" was getting to him, yet if this noise didn't stop then they would act like this entire village's alarm clock instead of the Sun.

"I'll corner you, can't run forever!" The fake hero heard her muffled voice behind his thick cover; many times he listened to her, determining distance, and can confidently state this was the closest she had ever gotten while he was still taking the cover, perfect time to strike. He peeked around the corner ever so slightly; eyes fell on her hastily approaching form. _One…two…three!_

"Hyah!" Luka sprung into action, jumping from behind his improvised shelter, using Demon Decapitation to rush into her neck. A single mistake could determine who had the upper hand in battle, and his royal opponent had made one by advancing to him so recklessly. He slashed her throat, stunning her for a very short time. _Finally another clean hit after so many failures._

It wasn't enough to follow up with another hit, but he took most of what can get from this situation, however, it didn't feel wholly right… _Oh no._ Luka quickly spotted her murderous glare and without any further delay, another large flow of wind hit him directly, sending him flying.

 _No, no, no, no…_ His legs were in the air pointing right at the night sky that calmly mocked his decision to strike her and expose himself so openly, every single time he got ahead she only took it back, and vice versa, was this standstill truly unbreakable?

That was a question he had to think about later, now his only worry was landing correctly on his feet, acrobatics wasn't an activity that had done a lot off, but regardless he twisted his body, leaning his thighs and feet to the side to flip upright before rolling and landing on the hard ground stumbling a couple of times in the process, but Angel Halo remained in his hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" Luka couldn't help but let out a relieved laugh.

The fake hero faced the Harpy Queen who looked satisfied with her, there was no cover he could run and duck under anywhere near him, the full force her dives and conjured up wind would no longer be held back by the fauna… _Thank you Nature for your sacrifice, heh…this is bad._

"Chu! Chu!" Tusk yelped at its user, unlike many of its soothing coos this one took a more worrying and hectic tone, that brought intense despair, moreover as he saw his Stand pointed over to something quite distressing – the locals and their kidnapped men approaching, they were getting so close, at their rate they could freely interfere with the bout in a minute, and all he was doing was standing frozen like a statue.

"What in the bloody hell is going on?" A tired voice demanded to know.

"What's all of this racket?" A man hollered in confusion and many more exclamations followed from both men and harpies, the crowd was staggering, it all hammered on his ears like a bomb was set off right next to him. Though the size could have been the entire village for all the Stand user cared for, what mattered was their intent and if he could stop them.

"The Queen! Look, she is fighting some boy over there!" One of the many harpies called to her fellows, pointing over to the classic bout between hero and monster happening in front of them, both Luka and their Queen were stationary, contemplating their next moves. They all knew this fight would have likely gone on while they were all still asleep, they would have missed this completely if it was just a little bit quieter, worst of all t

"Shit…can I even hold them back from aiding their precious queen?" Luther asked his stand, which gave a reassuring yes to him in its signature way, they looked on as the group of Monster and Human got closer to him, no doubt shocked at the scene before them.

"You there, why didn't yo-"A blue feather harpy flew close to the stand user abruptly stopping upon noticing his identity, her eyebrows narrowed at his presence. "Wait…you're not from here, what are you doing in our village and why is the Queen fighting someone?"

"Who cares? All that matters is that our leader is under attack!" A smaller more hasty harpy jumped around in a panic and like that the peaceful night that once was comfort was replaced by rowdy ceaseless noises, whispers, frustrated and confused exclamations were spoken, in one fell swoop the entire village came to life, regrettably so for Luther's and Luka's sake, he wouldn't be surprised if the Happiness villagers still hiding heard the massive commotion. Chambers observed the loud masses, counting up the amount of Harpies gathered, they still were all sleepy, the ensuing battle failed to completely wake them from their slumber, some of the younger ones looked like they had wanted nothing but to go back to sleep.

 _I'm going to have to hold them all back… that could, unfortunately, leave me with no possibility to aid Luka…most likely and can I even stop them without seriously hurting any of them…?_ Luther's grimace deepened, which would destroy any semblance of a chance of a peaceful resolution, but he had to try something. _They always said I am not exactly an approachable person, hell, even Luka admitted a similar thing to me_

"Let's defend our Queen, the boy may have that strange sword but he should be no match for us all and our leader." The harpies gathered in disjointed march that was slowly moving toward the winded Luka, the men hesitantly joining in lacking a bit behind, some of them took the side of their, their improvised ringleader was harpy whose feathers were as black as night, she was the largest of those gathered

"I am afraid I cannot let you interfere. You will not go any further, unless..." Luther stood in front of the ringleader to safeguard any attempt of attacking Luka, his voice was cold and neutral but sounded like it could change to a malicious tone as if a demon was wearing his skin as a cloak and was waiting for any excuse to break out. He gave his best spiteful glare to the black-feathered Harpy who stopped the march, yet refused to back down from his oppressively close presence.

"Unless what, what will you do against all of us?" She asked, but couldn't find in herself to smirk at him, a part of her deep inside told her he was dangerous and his threats weren't complete falsehoods. "My, my, you do look rather nice in this light, wouldn't mind taking you after all of this is done. Such a wonderful face, I can't wait to see it twist in pleasure." The Harpy tried touching his cheek with her wing, feeling him up, then immediately flinched away – the man was cold to touch like a block of steel. He remained motionless, not even a single twitch, a thick mist of freezing water vapor emerged from his mouth and nose.

He put his hand on her shoulder, firmly grasping it while his other drew out a steel ball and spun it on his finger right in front of their faces "Unless you want to get all of your wings crippled and faces pelted with steel I suggest you stop and watch…" He said making sure his voice was loud enough for all to hear.

"Like, we would be scared of someone like you." A particularly brave Harpy spoke up, exchanging glances with the man, fueling several other exclamations of bravery marching closer to his young companion. Luther sighed, lightly swinging his finger that held his steel weapon towards the monster that dared to defy him, she instantly regretted it, ducking behind some people in fear of the incoming projectile that never came breaking her bravado.

"No, Stay back!" The familiar commanding tone of the Queen drew the attention of all of those around, that peaceful silence the night took on returned as nobody dared to speak a word, even her opponent took that silence as a break to collect his stamina. "None of you will interfere, for my honor as your Queen, I'll show you what we do to those that break our laws myself… **and that means all of you.** " She plainly said glancing toward, the frustrations and chill in her sent shivers down her people's spines, although the raggedness of her breaths was only causing concern.

"You have proven yourself to be quite the nuisance to subjugate, resisting and avoiding my given pleasure, certainly I can commend you for getting this far, but…" She flew higher to assert her dominance over the purple-haired boy, all of her behavior leading to a bad omen in Luka's perspective. "Your resistance will end here, if I cannot make you submit through pleasure then I will beat you unconscious."

Luka felt dread in case him as soon as she uttered those words, he could feel the pressure in the atmosphere get heavier and heavier on his body, the hard ground turning into quicksand as his legs sunk below, the boy's gaze shifted over to Angel Halo, it's eyes rapidly shifting to his opponent and left side and glowing.

The Harpy Queen twisted in the air in a form of graceful acrobatics and with great speed turned into a blur for the pint-sized hero, he could barely determine her movement, but it was obvious that she was heading toward him until it wasn't…she vanished just as he raised his sword to guard, appearing at his left side to kick him, the hit launched him a fair distance away forcing him to roll to safety, barely managing to land kneeling.

He looked up, another blur came at him, and the eyes of Angel Halo pointed toward him this time, his opponent disappeared into thin air, reappearing behind him to give another powerful kick to his back, sending forward into a ditch.

 _Dear lords above…this is horrible, please don't tell me she has gone full power..._ Luther watched in despair at his friend getting thrown like a rag doll knowing there wasn't anything he could do with breaking the unofficial agreement of non-aggression with the crowds of harpies, he saw many of the men and some harpies stare at the scene with looks of pity. They knew what both of him and Luka were here for, to rescue the kidnapped men on the behest of the nearby villagers, and to see a boy who barely appeared to be a teenager get hit like that was nearly gut-wrenching and torturous. _Gathering sympathy here Queen, it's a shame I can't clip those wings of yours, would make the fight much easier._

"Give up already, you wouldn't need to feel this pain…I can make it all better." She suggested, a mere look of sadness crossing her expression at Luka's pathetic state, he appeared as he could barely stand up, much less move. "All you need to do is to give up."

 _Oh, Ilias it hurts so much…I need help…_ Luka's body felt like it was on fire, everything hurt, his muscles were slack almost completely refusing to move, his breathing rapid and rasping in pain. He glanced with his blurred vision to Luther, his only ally who looked busy with holding back the crowds that would have otherwise swarmed them both, in all honesty, it was preferential to this agony, the Queen's offer even seemed very tempting to him. The boy's head fell, Angel Halo entered his vision, meeting his own eyes, thoughts idly wondering on the blade's nature, their eyes shifting nature were suspicious…

 _You, you guessed her movement just before she did it…_ The fake hero swallowed to lump in his throat and took in a sharp breath, the sword's eyes flashed once more confirming his assumption" I c-can't tr-trust my senses, th-they're too sl-slow…know this – I'll believe your judgment, if you're there, please help." He whispered over to Angel Halo, its green eyes glowing golden light, as foreign energy started to flow into his system, feeding his body the necessary power to heal and move, to stand in defiance.

"I'm not done yet…" He stated, surprising his watchers and opponent, the Harpy Queen kept her expression neutral, however. Luka was left standing more confidently as his sword continued to feed him the power that it had consumed from his opponent.

"Such endurance and persistence, shame you're using it in such a way, you'd make a fine mate" She flapped her wings reaching for the air again and charging at him.

 _Left now..._ Luka followed the movement of Angel Halo's irises, swinging to his left, he could no longer see his assailant in any shape or form, blind guessing, intuition and his sword's advice was the only he could properly stand a chance against her. He drove her from attacking for a small second before she flanked once more.

 _Right…_ Luka swung right, not knowing if he managed to hit his target, but he could guess he had the very least of preventing her attack as evidence of not being launched into a nearby tree yet.

 _Behind…_ The fake hero turned around, for a short time actually, seeing her body and crossing eyes with the Harpy Queen, who seemed shocked that he knew where she would appear, this didn't last long as disappeared once more and at that period he idly wondered where it was going to be next, was she going to try to kick his ribs again or perhaps the spine this time? Angel Halo immediately answered his question.

 _Fr- ugghh!_ Before he could even react, a large force smashed into his abdomen, pushing out all the air and a bit of blood out of his body and sending him flying and crashing into the ground.

"Chu!" Tusk practically screeched in despair, trying to fly forward to aid the boy in some way, however small it may be, but was blocked by its limited range.

 _I don't know how long I can take this…_ Luther stared agape as he saw Queen Harpy Luka's body lying on the ground, there was barely even a twitch in his muscles, he almost looked dead to him. Chambers listened to loud whispers exchanged between each other, none of the human's had appeared to accept this abuse, he could wholeheartedly agree as all he wanted to do was put his hand on that Harpy's neck and wri- _Calm down Luther, attacking now will turn every single one of those around against me…but I can wait my turn?_ He observed how his nails had begun spinning again and this time he could safely say it was for good reason, it was so easy to just point a finger and fire as he felt his instincts scream at him to do so, but he restrained himself at the sight of his young hope-filled companion moving once more.

 _Somebody, please… Luther, Alice…_ Luka lay there, passing between unconsciousness and consciousness, his ears could barely any noise as his head rang but the whispers of the villagers' doubt of the Queen's intentions fueled his determination, his body felt nothing but numbness, the fake hero knew that his cursed blade, his only guide, was far out of his reach, perhaps it would come to him once more? It nudged a little closer to him, he could just about barely reach it.

"Now, are we done here, have you had enough?" The Harpy Queen asked, almost not expecting a proper response at this point. She frowned, maybe she did do more harm than necessary, yet he was an enemy, somebody who attacked and sealed her people, a little roughing up wouldn't do anything bad if he was taken care of later.

"N-no…" He refused even his beaten-down state, many couldn't handle it looking away from what was about to happen next. Luther took one step forward and then another, he ever so slowly approached the Harpy Queen, his hand twitching, nobody dared to stop him – the Harpies thought he was marching off to death while the Men sympathized with his decision.

"Then know this, I don't wish to do this out of a sense of cruelty." The Harpy Queen shook her, ascending into the sky like a rocket, it was clear to all of her subjects what she was going to do next.

Luka observed her ascent through a half-closed eye and sighed. This was the end for him, wasn't it? All of his training, everything he had fought for, his friend, the friendship had steadily created with Luther, ended by a monster he was hopelessly outmatched to, to think he could have one was ridiculous. Perhaps Alice was right, he shouldn't have helped the village and moved on, or perhaps shouldn't have even left his hometown, stayed there with his dreams where he was safe.

 _But then what?_ He'd become another simple bystander that let the world go on its course, he'd break his promise to his mother who he made when she was dying…Luka glanced once more at his nearly victorious opponent, she was about to dive right at him – the curtain call. _What do I do?_

* * *

" _You have to realize that you're fighting beings that are often superior in speed and strength, beings that most likely will do worse things to you than you can ever muster up the wickedness to even consider, and you need any advantage you can get. It's a kill or be killed situation"_

_"You want to achieve your dream? Be fierce Luka..."_

* * *

The fake hero remembered those word that Luther said to him while he was at his most doubtful, and he finally fully understood that his friend was completely right, skill wasn't the only thing that was needed to travel across in hopes of fighting the Monster Lord, but also fierceness and unending determination – the qualities of a hero. Each encounter with a monster, each person in need was a test of that.

 _Get up, get up and fight!_ He commanded his body, whatever pain he was feeling, however, his body refused to function it didn't matter when everything – his friendships, training, the people in need of saving, his dream was at stake. A righteous mind puts an ideal above their own life, so let him become righteous…Pray, _Let my body continue resisting, even if my bones are broken._ Through sheer willpower his body listened, the blood pumped, the limbs obeyed his orders. He wasn't going to let anyone stop him, not even a queen.

"I shall not lay down, I will not surrender." Luka grabbed Angel Halo firmly in his hands using it as support, it felt _right…_ the sword of Heinrich, a legendary artifact he never would have thought could've ended up in his possession, no doubt he'd lose it if he lost here, Alice wouldn't let him keep it, all the more reason to fight.

The fake hero watched as the Harpy Queen finally dived toward him, her movements were easily predictable, he knew exactly where she would end up being, admittedly he still wasn't even standing, but had his weapon and that's all that mattered right now. He lightly stumbled over trying to keep himself up without the prison blade's help but got quickly used to it, there was a matter he needed to attend to, namely the feathered projectile about to crash into him, and so…

 _Be fierce, Luka_. He jumped lunging right back into her, positioning his sword into a Longpoint stance so that she would skewer herself on it. Time slowed to a screeching halt the Harpy Queen had no time to react to his sudden grit and defiance, her momentum was too strong to properly turn away, so she was left in sheer dread as she watches the blade agonizingly get closer to her chest, all she could is brace herself and keep her energy to together as much as possible.

The blade cleanly phased through, taking a large chunk of her power as it left her chest, she felt her heart flutter as her muscles became loose, losing strength she fell to as her opponent landed stumbling on his feet behind her. The Harpy Queen's stood up from the crash, her legs shaky barely capable of lifting her, if it wasn't for how light her species were they would have failed long ago. Unnatural and powerful constitution continuing to support her despite how drained she felt, just enough to immediately turn around to the fake hero.

"I won't lose, I can't lose, not now!" Bright piercing emerald came out from the boy's eyes entering her vision, creating a thin wisp of green light as Luka charged her without letting a single second of recovery to his opponent. She attempted to flee from his attack, but he was too fast, she felt another draining slash to her shoulder. "Come on is that all you got?!" He yelled, one slash came after one another – turning him into an unrelenting blur, a maelstrom of sword slashes and stabs.

Regardless the regal monster powered through the assault gaining steady lift off staring into the boy's eyes, gone was the pathetic and weak lifelessness in them replaced by glowing green eyes that held such unique ferocity she had never seen in her lifetime.

"Don't think I'm letting you fly off like that, not making this mistake again!" Luka threw himself at her in the air with all the might he could muster in his oxygen-starved pained body to slash her throat, if he wasn't for his current single-mindedness he would have noticed that his opponent's shocked expression turned into a hopeless smile. In a sharp gasp, she felt the attack connect.

The Harpy Queen fell out of what altitude she had gained which left her crashing and lying in a small ditch motionless from the lack of power left in her body, in her blurry vision she spotted Luka stumbling over right above her. She could do no more than keep her form stable. His arms and shoulder hung low, his shoes dragged through the mud. The willpower he had mustered to endure the exhaustion and pain slowly fading away as he held his weapon in a loose grip aiming it at her head. Her mind screamed in desperation, demanding to know why she, a queen of monsters, lost to this barely adult human.

Their eyes met and she finally understood it - she wasn't fighting someone who was doing so for his safety or some for the sake of some quest, but an ideal, something which was enough to make men disregard the pain, their own life to continue fighting, otherwise the boy would have long succumbed to her will.

In her arrogance she failed to notice it sooner, _I was already fighting a losing battle because of that, it's too late, the only thing I can do now is try to run with the little amount of power I still have left…_ She managed to get out frown as she considered such shameful action. _Maybe losing to such a human isn't so awful, if it didn't mean dooming my people._

" _It's over…"_ Luka with a deep haggard rage-filled breath raised his sword to deliver the final sealing blow.

"Stop right there, don't kill the queen!" The fake hero could barely hear a voice, most likely belonging to one of the kidnapped villagers, there were others but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Luka let his gaze wander to the side, spotting the large group of human and monster alike rushing toward him and the queen. He didn't care about their objections, while unsealed she remained a threat to him, he could still be beaten and raped, the threat he had to eli-

"Oi, Luka." The boy alertly yelped as he felt a reassuring hand grasp his shoulder, its presence was a familiar feeling of a calming cold that eased him bit by bit, his mind finally pieced together that all of that belonged to Luther making him breathe a sigh of relief, although his sword remained pointed at his assailant. The villagers were coming toward them and quickly, he had but a moment to decide the fate, all it took was one small push.

"That's enough, you can relax." Chambers said. It was more of a strict command than a suggestion. His hand holding back the fake hero from moving the slightest bit forward to his enemy.

 _His eyes are glowing, and not his even his 'usual' angelic way either, something is fishy…_ While he was ultimately glad for Luka coming on top during the nerve-wracking bout, he couldn't help but frown at his friend's shell-shocked state and having to seal a queen wouldn't do them any favors of peacefully resolving this matter, it would take the likes of Alice to undo Angel Halo's power. _I'll worry about it later, right now he needs to ease off and step away from that Harpy before he does something stupid._

"But she still hasn't been sealed, who knows what she could still do to me or you for that matter." He refuted struggling in his friend's one-handed grasp, Luka's shaking body was already losing all the strength it had left and Angel Halo didn't seem too keen on lending it anymore. He needed to finish this here and now before his legs broke down and before the other harpies could stop him.

"Do what? Look at her, she can barely move as it is…" Luther pointed out lightly tugging his younger companion back. "Just stop…please, the battle is over, no one here will rape or beat you …I won't let them." He quietly whispered over, sending a contemptuous glare toward the approaching monsters to ward them off the boy.

Luka collecting himself laid his eyes on the queen harpy lying on the ground before him proving that Luther was correct. The Queen was left with barely any energy at all and closed eyes, she didn't appear to possess any capability for movement besides the rising and falling chest from her breathing. He wasn't even sure if she was awake or even if she was, could hear and see them because they were completely sure they were reacting to either of their presence. _Almost like she was accepting her fate…_

"Oh, that's f-fine…" The ethereal green glow in Luka's eyes vanished, his expression no longer filled with desperation and fear. He slumped down, legs giving out completely under his weight letting him fall backward, hitting something soft as arms wrapped around his chest. Even in pain, he felt tired, very sleepy…

"Here we go, I got you, don't worry about it, you can rest easy, now it's my turn." Luther dragged him and Angel Halo away from the incoming crowd, the men of the village both young and old created a disconnect barrier between the fake hero and the harpy while some helped the harpies gathered around their queen…none of them dared to attack Luther who gave them the best death stare he could muster up, while some had flown away from the villagers in fear of the other invading human was capable of.

"My queen, are you alright, can you hear me?!" The villagers frantically ran around their leader, relieved to see her still live, they gently lifted her, but it seemed she preferred to stay silent.

"What have you done?" One of the many harpies demanded to know, getting no response from the two invaders other than scoff and an intense glare that silenced her.

I'm just glad that she is alive…" Many more declarations followed after, but Luka and Luther paid no mind to them, their thoughts preoccupied with more important topics.

"Th-the signal, yo- you have used it." Luka reminded his ally and handed him a strange metal cylinder with a pin out of a small bag on his belt.

"Right." Completely understanding what he meant Luther took the metallic cylinder that seemed made of an unknown alloy, it had inscriptions he couldn't quite read written on its side and a pin on its top, he idly noted that its appearance was very similar to a modern-day grenade and pulled on its pin. Colorful fire and sparks spewed out of it, telling him that didn't have much time to throw it, but had no worries –it was one of his specialties after all.

Chambers casually chucked the flare grenade into the air. It spun around before blowing up into a long-lasting blinding flash of light of shifting colors that could have put any firework back in his world to shame. Everyone covered their eyes from the large flare signal, even the Queen was woken up from her imposed slumber to hide from such an intense light. It faded, sparing them from such visual torment. However, soon enough this disturbance was followed after on by a myriad of yells and battle-cries in between the loud marching, from every single corner of the Harpy village emerged the women of Happiness Village with improvised weaponry surrounding and bringing shock to the men and harpies, but brought peace of mind to Luka who finally let sleep take him.

"F-father!" A young girl called out for her parent, breaking formation and running toward the stunned man and hugging him. "You're here, I missed you!"

"Mark, oh thank goodness I can finally see again!" Martha came up to her son who seemed slightly embarrassed at the sight of her, a harpy took his side to comfort him. "Are you okay, how have they been treating you? Who is this?"

"I..uh...Mother.." Mark barely stuttered out of shock and bashfulness but composed himself at the touch soft of his monster partner. "Let me introduce you to my wife, Piana, and uh…this our daughter, Pipi." A small winged child poked her head from behind the man's legs, gazing at her untold family member.

"Grandma?" She bravely walked over to the older woman and flapped her wings as a friendly gesture to her, the older woman resisted the urge to just pick up the innocent feather child and dance around over how adorable she looked. Martha always wanted grandchildren – more family to fill the void her husband's death left, she couldn't complain about not specifying the species properly, but she didn't mind having such an adorable grandchild, being able to easily point to which traits the small harpy inherited from her son.

Everywhere Luther glanced much of it was the same – reunions between old family members with some new additions of the Harpies acting as either the wives or daughters of the men. It was all taken indifferently, some cried in the joy of being able to witness their family members, others were still confused or bashful to properly interact with one another without becoming stuttering messes or awkward tension as old wives met new, and the rare bunch…

"That's right the harpies are our family now." An old small man, confidently, without any shame striped to the center of the ongoing commotion.

 _I don't think revealing you've cucked them so openly is a good introduction of things…_ Luther laid Luka down on the grass field, his gaze shifting between all the innocent monster children with a grimace. _Damn, those kids are going to have a hard time interacting with their new family, just because of how they were conceived._

"Chief!"

"You!" The village chief's wife pointed at him accusingly as if she was about to strangle him, fuming with frustration that was shared by some of her fellows. "Why didn't you come back, you know many days, weeks, and months I've spent thinking you died?! Why didn't you come back, you seem fine and unharmed now!"

"Eh…uh…hoo boy, am not getting out this alive, aren't I?" He worried, inquired as he slowly started to back away from his angry wife; no one was willing to defend him from such a scorned beast.

"No, you're not, unless you explain to me and all of these wonderful people, why have none of you returned home once, to tell us anything, else I'll tear your scrawny dust-filled neck from your body!" She threatened, already grabbing onto his collar, many of the men winced at this and others felt the pain too from their own wives' reprimanding.

"I can explain…" A quiet voice interjected, indirectly demanding silence and respect, it belonged to the harpy queen who was barely lucid, not capable of standing without the support of her subjects. "They were not allowed to leave in case any of them tried to escape, in fact, none of them tried to leave…" Her simple words spelled death sentences for some of the men, who had already begun praying to live another day, their only protection was the new Harpy wives they had, the queen wasn't spared from angry looks as well. "We were forced to this because we need as many men as we can get, being a species only capable of producing women."

The village chief glanced up from her husband who she was about to hit him with her cane. "Then why didn't you tell us at all, your people went to kidnap ours immediately. I'm glad they're all fine, but still!" She tapped her large cane against the grass in anger.

"And how would have you responded then?" Her question brought great pause to the elder. "For most of my life, my people have faced refusal after refusal of aid for the simple reason that we are Monsters, we grew tired of it and decided to take matters into our hands. Let me ask you this: what choice did we have, what would've done in my stead when every human has been disappointedly hostile or barely neutral? It was that or die out."

"And you'd have caused our village to die out, nobody else wanted to settle here due to all the kidnappings." One the human women mentioned, most refused to speak a word at the utterance of such a fact, the thought of extinguishing the existence of one village to save their own didn't bring any relief to the harpies

"But we didn't mistreat any of them, they're all fine, aren't they?" One of the harpies innocently asked, gaining support from her brethren and the men and dismay from the human women.

"Yeah, they made me feel young again! Every night…" The village chief agreed to let out a perverted laugh before being clobbered by a large stick. "AH! That was a joke, please! Have mercy!" He faced another hit to the forehead before being let go.

"Maybe…just maybe I could understand your reasoning, and could say I might have done the same in your stead…but!" The elder stood straight up before the harpy queen with crack noise as her back did the same. "Don't mistake my understanding for acceptance, am still absolutely livid…" She earned a weak sympathetic nod from the Queen.

"Listen up, I'll only say this once!" Luther yelled, catching everyone's attention, they all looked at him in fear or wonder, or perhaps even both in some folks, the look of lust as well from some of the harpies wasn't lost on him either. But he cared not, just wanted to get his message. "Before you continue any further, I know some of you might be or get mad, however under no circumstance I want to see anyone attacking and trying to kill each other, you're on thin ice." He pointed at the older woman who made herself even smaller. "Just…argue, scream at each other if you want to, but don't turn this into a blood-fest, else you lose mine and my friends' support."

* * *

Many disputes continued afterward - heated, dumbfounded, calm, and collected all of these emotions were expressed in these disorganized arguments and Luther had to passively listen to all of them, ensuring that neither side decides to be violent. Thankfully some of the families, which he noted were smaller or had a previously unmarried man, managed to establish a stable ground for forming a proper connection between harpy and human, he was sure Luka would have loved to see that, but he didn't disturb the boy's well-earned nap.

"What a mess." Alice finally manifested herself next to Luther, yawning loudly and crossing her arms. "These people can't talk it out with a dumb rock to save their own life, much less with the Harpies.

"Agreed." Was all that Luther responded with, palming and massaging his face.

"How is our little sleeping prince doing?" Alice's signature grin slipped into a frown at the sight of Luka's beaten state, his pained raspy breathing brought no relief to her. "To think that the queen would fight in such a manner and still lose…he either is showing potential I couldn't even see in him or…I'll have someone to reprimand over their incompetence after this journey is over." She concluded, pulling up his armor and clothes to reveal his bare body and the damage had taken in the fight.

"How bad is it?" Luther asked, he could hazard a guess as to how bad it was as he remembered how the boy could barely stand upright at several times, how Luka cried out or whimpered in pain at every movement or hit on him, only stopping after the fake hero finally managed to score a direct hit on the Queen.

She let her fingers glide over the bruising, her eyes shone brighter than before, analyzing the physical trauma he received on his limp body, none of it was pretty to look at to the Monster Lord. "Cracks in the ribs and spine, some fractures here and there…it's amazing he had managed to continue fighting in such a state, inhuman almost…nonetheless impressive."Alice's curious observation caused Luther to shudder in second-hand pain.

"Ugh…didn't think it was that bad," Luther admitted, shaking his head and attempting to purge the small desire to skewer the Queen with his nails...

"Figures, the bravado that the resident idiot hero here put up certainly gave me that impression too, the difference between him there and now is rather staggering…" The Purple Lamia said, her hands began to glow in an ethereal light, some type of mist emerged from them entering the boy's body. "So fragile and unaware…" The discolorations and bruises on Luka's skin slowly vanished along with his paleness, he lost the pain and raspiness in his breathing, becoming more sedated as he slumbered away deeper into his dream, muttering something about fending off an evil dragon from a kingdom.

"Are you…healing him?" Luther inquired, dumbfounded at the act of kindness that Alice showed, his memory might have failed on some little details of the story as he never remembers Alice healing Luka ever, granted, most of Luka's serious injuries happened after he got his Angelic healing-factor unlocked.

"Yes, it would be awful to have him wake up in such a sorry state, not only would he be dragging us down on this journey since I doubt he could properly move now…" Alice frowned once she saw his skeptical expression. "What's with that look? I'm not cruel to leave him be like this if I can help it, all the torment I've inflicted on him, as he called it, has been nothing but simple teasing and harsh training, not my fault he is a wuss when it comes to that." Her countenance became a twisted smirk in an instant. "Unless you object to what I'm doing…but then you'll have to carry him around everywhere and fight for him for a _long_ time, of course as a good friend I'm sure you'd be willing to do that."

Luther promptly shut up, while Luka may have had his sympathies, but carrying him around for goodness knows how long and fighting his battles seemed moronic when a better alternative was present. Instead of pondering on that further, he realized he was distracted from his self-imposed goal, deciding to look back to the villagers arguing, it was much quieter than before, the more peaceful families had already started some form of small talk between each other, as awkward as it was, while the more aggressive one didn't seem to have enough energy to yell anymore at each other. One man had grown brave enough to step forward.

"All of us have some family here in this Harpy Village and can't exactly leave them, so why don't we just combine the villages." That man suggested, jumping and shrinking away from the malicious stares he got from some of the women present. His village chief however was more courageous.

"Yeah, everyone would be a big family, wouldn't that be the best for us all? Someone would need to fight." The old man wholeheartedly smiled as he messaged his red and bruised neck that his wife was done strangling, all of the men agreed with this, wanting no further conflict and to return to their peaceful, bliss-filled lives, even if they had to now worked to earn them and in all honesty, they missed their human family, it was an emotional gap the harpies could not quite patch up.

"Since my son is married, and I'll have a bunch of grandchildren, I wouldn't really mind it," Martha said, being of the only few women who immediately agreed to their proposition, they seemed hesitant in wanting anything awful to happen.

 _Alright, things are going smoothly enough, good…I don't think my heart can take more "excitement for today, now only if those Harpies stop staring at me like that…_ Luther shuddered in discomfort, he didn't want any of them to try to seduce him, because he knew it wasn't likely they would try to capture over the reasons that he had asserted dominance through intimidation and the fact that their union might make them all think twice before blatantly disregarding their agreements

These small exclamations and agreement of wanting a union had woken up the Harpy Queen out of her general stupor, indiscernible emotions crossed her countenance, a mix of sadness and hope from remembering the older days of when her people were rejected, compared to the present, but she forced out a glower as her mind reminded her of several key details. "What you suggest I'm willing to consider, however, I must know this. One of my subjects left the village in search of a mate and to this hour hasn't come back, this has never happened before and I have a feeling that your village is responsible for, explain…" She lightly demanded, the women of Happiness Village stumbled over their words, unsure of how to respond without drawing her ire.

"It was me." Luther walked to the Harpy Queen, facing her, his gait mechanic like that of an emotionless robot, barely any fluidness in his actions. The Queen tried to speak up but was stopped by him wiggling a single finger, asking for at least a single second to preface. "First of all, your harpy subject was looking for a mate, yes, unfortunately, she tried to find a mate in a boy that probably wasn't even fertile in front of me and my compatriot. Now we may understand your circumstances, yet her actions were against a minor were reason enough for us to intervene, besides not fully knowing this little situation between your people and the villagers of Happiness Village we did the impulsively admirable thing and stopped her, ultimately capturing her… she is fine…alive and well enough."

"Well enough? "She asked in suspicion, it was already enough irritation that she was captured, but that particular mix of words did anything but ease her, the harpy was sure if it wasn't for her weakened state and possibility of a peaceful outcome she would have pinned him against the ground to interrogate him.

"I kind of blew a hole in her wing to stop from escaping." The man raised his arms in defense before she could spout any frustrated outburst in regards to him hurting her people, some of the Harpies gasped in shock. "As I said, besides that damage, she is completely fine, nobody hurt her any more than she was brought into the village, I made sure of that." He looked around to gauge the people's reaction, they were rather mostly neutral about the news, some of course were angrier than others but lacked the courage to denounce the man standing in the center. "In this hour your subject remains tied up to a tree, most likely asleep."

"Eh…no longer tied to the tree." A woman interjected, hoping that her given information would help reduce the regal Monster's anger. "We tied her to the bed after she fell asleep, slept like a baby since."

Luther stopped for a moment, puzzled, he stared at the woman who spoke up and then glanced at Alice who shared the same disbelief. "Anyway, if you're going to direct your anger then do it to me, you seem to be a leader who cares deeply about her people, so I offer my deepest apologies for any trouble that my actions have caused ." He bowed apologetically before showing his determined expression. "But I still believe what I did was right, if, admittedly, a bit excessive and impulsive."

"And you cannot complain of what happened to your subject." Alice stepped in. "Considering you were going to punish Luther and Luka for trespassing into your territory and attacking your people, it would be very hypocritical for you to not expect much of the same when she stepped into their territory to kidnap a child and still be mad about it." She added, her commanding presence silenced all whispers more than Luther or Luka ever could, even the Queen was stunned by her.

"Hmm…then what of Silvia and Oriene, I do not see them anywhere, what happened to them?" Right about as she asked two small birds flew over to the queen, one pink, the other brown, landing on her shoulders and nuzzling her into her cheeks, she didn't push them away. It was pleasant and their smell felt familiar.

"Well, they're right there on your shoulders, since you already know what Angel Halo does I don't think you need any further explanation." He told her. "Also, they're expecting you to unseal them, but I doubt that would be possible today, sorry there…"

"Very well, that is satisfactory to hear, as far as I can gather you tried you." The Harpy Queen stated and all of the human men and women could breathe easier as the tense atmosphere lifted little by little. "Let me hear your proposition."

* * *

The argument possibly lasted for hours, Luther wasn't keeping track of time, just inattentively staring at the night sky as he rubbed Tusk's chin, from memory he could tell how different the pattern of stars was, the constellations that were typically seen in his world weren't there. Some had even considered going back to their homes to witness the outcome tomorrow. Shouting did happen, typically from the more spurned and zealous parts of the villagers and harpies, they were the last ones to accept this proposal. He could point out every hypocrisy and fallacy in their arguments, most of it stemming from emotions and not from a world of sound logic, and the opposition was quick to point it out, but let to more senseless arguing. Thankfully Luka's senses were far too disconnected from reality to properly hear this audible torture, a very envious position were it not for the injuries he had sustained to get him like this. Alice as well had opted to not participate in this mess.

"Chu…" Tusk wrapped around its user's arm, cooing weakly out of pain, he could perfectly understand what it meant even without his link. The other men and women were feeling much the same- dead inside, exhausted, just wanting to go to bed and sleep away their migraines. It was begging him to intervene, say something that would put them to rest, and be finally finished with the whole debacle, and who was he to deny his very soul's request?

"And what do we get out of this? You've simply stolen them, and then demanded we share." The village elder's wife harshly pointed it out. "Don't give that excuse, saying you didn't have a choice when there was a choice clear as day to simply ask!"

The Harpy Queen growled in rage, about to scream back and possibly do harm to her disregarding her current lack of power that she had supported by her Harpies. Before she could refute, Luther stepped in between them. He was a mysterious sort, and possibly powerful as well- that was as much as she could confidently say, noticing he was never really afraid of her or at least never outwardly showing fear, unlike his companion's constant nervous appearance. If she could ignore his transgressions against her people then she would dare call him rational, unlike many of the hairless apes she was talking to.

"Stop, I've heard enough and I'm sure many of my peers have as well, evident by the collective headache we have been experiencing." Chambers said shortly and quickly, that left no impression of wanting a debate, voiced filled venom no doubt caused by the constant droning on his ears. "My point is this: You're wrong, Happiness Village and Harpy Village can both benefit from this."

"How, what is your reasoning?" Both of the leaders asked in at once unknowingly.

"Let's start with your people." Luther turned to the village elder, towering over her, but trying to remain neutral. "This union could provide you with more workforce for further trade, you also have to consider that uniting with the Harpies would make him less likely targets for other attacks…and just face it, either we and the Harpies came during a really bad time, or Happiness Village has no defense, even something like Iliasville has a defense militia."

He then turned to the Harpy Queen. "Your people would benefit from keeping your stolen mates. "She tried to interrupt him but he continued. "No, I'm not judging you for that, just stating what would happen if you refuse, our job is to help this Happiness Village get them back…then you'd gain access to an important luxury resource that people pay good money for and the capability to trade with humans using the Happiness villagers as a medium and by the looks of your settlement's huts and fornications, you're in desperate need of that."

"Did I make myself clear? Is this reason sound enough for you to throw away that hatred? Because your people don't seem to be so intent on arguing anymore" Luther's questions gave great pause to the angry crowds that previously bickered without end, the leaders of the villages considered his points carefully becoming more aware of their own people's opinion on the matter as they finally witnessed the desperation in their faces that wanted them to stop and make peace.

"Yes, perhaps I am wrong…this would go nowhere but to bloodshed if it continued." The village elder concluded, her followers also appearing regretful about their close-mindedness regarding most of their fellows.

"Chu, chu!" Tusk jumped around in happiness that loud noises that kept it awake ceased, it danced around for a long time and then lied in its user's soft hair using it as a makeshift bed to fall asleep on making Luther let out a small, barely noticeable chuckle.

"Peace and unity would be better." The harpy queen agreed, their ceaseless arguing turned into a civil discussion of terms and obligations quite fitting to the pleasantly cold night they were all awake to feel, attempting to balance out the gains and losses of each requirement for one another bringing relief for Luther's and Alice's sanity and good news to the sleeping Luka.

"Then it is settled, we won't forcibly kidnap from the Happiness Village anymore." The harpy queen stated, a soft satisfactory smile creeping up her cheeks, after years of the same behavior from humans before they were enlightened by the pleasure it was refreshing to see them change their mind by themselves.

"Hmh…and we will send men from our village to marry the harpies, in return, your people must also help us with the farming and beekeeping as well as helping defend us and you will gain the obligation to request any particular resources you might need." The elder finished the agreed terms, their argument finally coming to an end with large applause and calls for celebration followed after it, many suggested organizing a festival between the two races, some already going back to get alcohol and other pleasantries.

"Finally these idiots finally came to a conclusion," Alice commented, nodding along with their decisions to unify. "Certainly, I would never expect such a thing to occur…yet this is good to see…"

"Yes it is, now excuse me. I'm going to let them have their fun and retreat to somewhere, preferably to a bed if possible." Was all that Chambers responded with, making her scoff and laugh, regardless she understood his exhaustion and left him be.

 _Drinking along with them in that festival sounds nice, but…_ Luther frowned sighing before heading back to Luka to pick him up so that he could place in a more suitable resting spot and far away from any mischievous Harpies. Something was bothering him. _They're united, sure…but for how long? They're on a fickle timer and all because of that damned genetic quirk that Monsters possess, those Harpies will outbreed and outnumber the Humans, no doubt about it, to the point where there will be no men anymore. Happiness Village would likely disappear, if not in name then in spirit and the Harpies would likely go back to their old ways only being slightly less hesitant about interacting with humans properly. This union is nothing but a temporary solution._

He groaned, a realization striking his heart. _A solution you helped bring…are you proud of yourself? Maybe…maybe there would be some way this could be fixed more permanently, maybe-_

 _No, no, no Luther…this isn't your world, meaning it's not your problem to solve, besides you've tried solving problems in your world, and look how you ended up, the world put you into the grinder and spat at you for trying to help your fellows._ Luther's figure slumped, his feet practically dragged across sweet grass below him. _What would you be able to do if you tried? Some breeding program? Altering their very genes, bringing in more people... get real…there is nothing I can do and nothing I should. I already played my part and it's all up to them, their responsibility._

This festival left him with a bitter taste, or at least the idea of what it meant for the fate of both villages, enough to push him away from all the pleasantries said event promised no matter how deeply he desired to drown out the sorrow, all Luther wanted now was to slip into Neverland, dream away his frustrations, perhaps Angel Halo could help conjure up some sweet dreams for him.

* * *

**Luther's notes: Happiness Town.**

**A town located east of Iliasburg, it was and still is one of the most noteworthy landmarks of the continent mainly for their production of Happiness Honey - a world-renown delicacy, much more superior in quality when compared to other producers, often ordered and used in high-quality restaurants or other tourist attractions, even noble houses have known to trade for it. This has made this settlement, comparable to its size, an economic powerhouse.**

**The other reason it is noteworthy is for its recent developments, after the union between the Harpies and war against heaven the village has quickly expanded its borders and increased workable lands at the slight cost of the natural landscape. The village had become known as another open safe haven for Monsters willing to abide by its laws and so many Monsters and Humans flooded into it to find themselves a proper peaceful home. Ultimately it heavily impacted their infrastructure, proper roads were paved to the other cities, the selection of buildings expanded meant for more than just housing or inventory, walls were built in some places, stocked with guards to keep out any occasional malicious outlaw or 'feral' Monster. With the large increase of population a new less centralized governing system was required, the relative authority of the elders and the queen was replaced by an official council, though they still contained those very same members.**

**I can conclude that they are prospering, and it will most likely be so for many years to come with the very low amount of failures or hurdles that they had to overcome. That is not to say that there aren't any problems, certainly, a handful of them hangover the town's fate, not immediately, but if not dealt with could lead to its end.**

**As is obvious from their history Harpies still make up the large majority of the Monster present, they're known for being rather fecund when compared to other species with their propensity to breed in large amounts. Meaning that most likely in a couple of years the Harpy count would likely overcome the Human ones, even when accounting for migrants. The issue stems from a general problem that all ordinary Monsters possess general their inability to sire males to their overly dominant genes (Thank you Dark Energy…) if this isn't dealt with it will spell the end of the human population after several generations, as the number their numbers will most likely dwindle easily because of active Monster are in their 'strategies' when it comes to finding partners.**

**Admittedly, this is a problem most Human and Monster mixed communities will face, dare I say the entire world if it isn't solved, fortunately, I've begun a side-project altering the dominance of the X chromosome within the Monster species, it has already entered prototype stages and I have gotten massive success since my very baby boy is the penultimate product of my research.**

**Though this may bring up more issues, as a whole if this project was finished in its current stages the Human would inevitably cease to exist being practically biologically assimilated into the many Monstrous species, another issue would be over-population considering how eager the Monsters seemed to be to reproduce in comparison to Humans. It would occur a lot faster than on Earth given this world's smaller size and previously mentioned features of Monsters.**

**All in all, I can determine that the project must be tweaked in order to address these problems, perhaps somehow letting Monsters have full-blooded Human children occasionally, decreasing the fertility rate more (I doubt any Monster would mind at all). Any solution to these problems is entirely within my grasp with the tools I have at my disposal.**

**My only requirements that I give myself are restraint and patience, I will not fall to Promenstein's level of unethicality, no matter how much she may suggest it may improve the efficiency and speed of my progress.**

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are done with the Happiness Village sub-quest, the only thing that remains is the send-off the villagers will give to our protagonists, and then a short visit to Enrika will happen, afterward the Iliasport eventually getting to the damned meeting Alma scene.
> 
> Speaking about Alma, fun trivia, Luther's biggest regret after the end of SoD is introducing Alma to jazz and swing music.
> 
> Now yes, I gave Luka a shounen protag moment and for a certain reason you will find out later, or somehow end up figuring it out.


	12. Omake: Spread Your Wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of sheer nightly inspiration and having a bit of free time from my schedule, I've decided to write an Omake. This one is an alternative scene to The Harpy Queen vs Luka fight.
> 
> Anyway welcome back to Spin of Destiny, in this chapter, Luka gives into voices.
> 
> Note: This is not a canon chapter.

The wind howled throughout the field, though he could barely feel its chill with his broken and hardly conscious body that was so adamant to disobey his every command, only being able to barely hold itself up by the forearms while legs remained ever limp. He felt his body burn, wounds made by his opponent made. Each movement, or attempted, felt excruciating, leaving him in a raspy and hectic breath as his lungs took in as much oxygen as possible. Angel Halo was left far out of his reach, and even if it was close he doubted he could ever touch it in his condition much less hold it properly to fight…

"Now, are we done here, have you had enough?" Luka could barely quite make out the stern voice of his adversary, he slowly looked to see the Harpy Queen, the one he sought to beat and stop the kidnappings. Perhaps he was not the only one to think so, she almost seemed regretful and filled with pity, maybe… if he looked hard enough through his blurry vision. The rest of her speech, sound of insects and other small nightly critters, whispers, and yells out of around him was a muddled noise as it was drowned out by the ringing noise in his ears that refused to stop. He could only clearly feel and hear the hard-paced beating of his heart trying to feed his oxygen-expended body.

 _Maybe…maybe I can-_ The fake turned his gaze back to the grass below him, it looked so soft, threatening to envelop him and never let go if his arms gave in – something that promised him a welcoming embrace if he just laid his head on it to rest, or maybe it was just his body being too weak. In all honesty, he silently considered her demand. As his body screamed at him with pain for the action he took, giving up sounded like a sweet option. He could just close his eyes, let his body fall, rest on the soft ground and maybe dream away all the torment. His eyelids felt heavy, they were beginning to close, never to open again as his arms wobbled more.

It would be so easy to…

**Are you really giving up so easily? I thought you had hope, dreams to seek and accomplish!**

A flamboyantly boisterous voice broke Luka out of his stupor. It was so close and even clearer than the sound of his unsteady heartbeat. The boy forced himself to frantically glance around to find its origin, yet there was no around that was nearby enough to be so loud and strong.

**And yet… when you have barely taken off, you start to fall into the depths below, to be impaled by the sharp stone hidden as your aspirations drift farther and farther away from you…no longer in reach…**

Finally, it clicked for Luka, the voice was coming from inside his very head, had he finally lost it, in sheer desperation for some support his mind conjured up some hallucination to encourage him even when his situation was hopeless? But it sounded so real, someone he could call for their aid. Regardless he didn't have any imaginary support…he already had that in Luther, he was sure someone would come to his rescue, right?

Luka glanced at Luther who was the only barrier separating him from the angry and distressed mob of harpies.

**Hmm… I do still sense a desire to rebel against such cruel fate within you.**

**However, there is no Daedalus to save us now in these broken skies, no holy intervention from whatever god may feel pity for what has befallen us. Know this, they will not always be our side, your enemies will seek to tear them away from you, will you let them? Look at her…your obstacle.**

Real or not, the voice held strength, a power he so desperately wished to have for himself. Luka followed the voice's request, staring at the Harpy who had caused this damage. She was still patiently waiting for his response, her body only illuminated by the starry sky above them. Her wings, the most important advantage she held over him to which she wholly exploited, Luka's mess of a body being a direct result of that, he quietly mused if any of his bones were broken or shattered

**Such glorious wings used for such cruel intent, a pity… perhaps you wish to make better use of them, soar through the heavens like her? Will you let her stand in your way and tear your dreams apart?**

"N- no, I won't, can't!" Luka answered loudly, a spark of defiance returning whilst he forced his pitiful body to endure the pain and steadily stand up, legs shaking, struggling to keep him up as he glared at his assailant. An eerie unmistakable golden glint in his eyes that pierced through the dark was seen by all.

The winged Monster appeared stunned, amazed by the unnatural sheer grit and determination displayed by the boy before her, she was sure some of his bones were cracked at least after her assault, no one that wasn't a battle-hardened warrior should be able to move, although she doubted his resistance would last long judging from his limp form barely being to hold itself up. "You refuse? Then know this, I don't wish to do this out of a sense of cruelty"

"I can't lose against you!" Despite the brave display, he stumbled as he took a step forward to the Harpy Queen, trying to support his legs with his arms. Luka heard many exclamations of disbelief and amazement from the people around him, but none of that mattered; he only had a single goal in mind.

**Ah…your resolve still burns true, very well, then let us be one…**

"Gah!" Luka heard the voice and grasped his head from the sudden pain that sprung in his head, it felt as if his brain was flattened into a pancake, thrown around inside of his skull while stabbed multiple times, and then lit on fire, which threatened to spill open out from his skull. It was much worse than anything the Harpy Queen could do to him. "Huahhh!" But unlike her caused agony, it made him feel alive, slowly filled him with power beyond his comprehension.

The fake hero dropped to the ground again, gripping his skull tightly. Air pressure increased as small waves began emerging from him hit the surroundings and masses; everyone couldn’t help but stare, their confusion and bewilderment replaced with horror at the suffering boy. The Harpy Queen hadn't moved at all, opting to land on the ground, something wasn't right to her…despite his current weak state.

Luther had no words to speak, his body remained frozen in shock, refusing to move, this seemed much worse than he imagined it would end up, it was all going too fast for him. _I- I'm sorry, I couldn't help you…maybe there is still a chance._ The man forced gaze to the spinning nails, nodding solemnly. _I- if, if I could eliminate her, then maybe I could get him to s-safety, try to…oh who am I kidding? I'm not even sure if I can help him…I'm sorry, Luka…_

The Harpy Queen hadn't moved at all, opting to land on the ground, something wasn't right to her…despite his current state. _His power is only increasing! Far beyond what he once had, b-but how? It doesn't make any sense! He should be out cold by now._ She immediately flew up into the sky, whatever oddities she was seeing she wasn't going to let the bad omen be fulfilled, it will have to end quickly, either by knocking him out or by blood.

" **I am thou"**

" **Thou art I…"**

" **The sky looks wonderful today...shall we reach for it?"**

As soon as those words were uttered he could bear the pain to stand upright and look in defiance at his opponent speeding toward the clouds. From blue flames manifested a mask on his face, a white faceplate of a Corinthian helmet, its edges gilded with golden laurel leaves. Along with it came the overwhelming to rip it off, to be free, yet proved to be harder than expected, the mask was attached to his very flesh.

" **From now on I am your wings, you shall be in the highest peaks and reach for the stars themselves, but be wary, for your flame may burn me, I beg of you never let that happen."**

The fake hero took a deep breath to still himself and gritted his teeth. He longer felt most of his aching form, everything – his dreams, hope, and the promise he made to his mother relied on this one very moment, even the diving Harpy was of no concern to him. This was it. A chance slip off the mask and reveal everything, the time for fairy tales, bedtime story and fantasies was long over, now real hope drove his path.

" **Call upon my name and fly!"**

With a heavy tug and a final pained yell, he ripped it off in one go, along with his face skin, revealing the red meat and blood underneath. The harpy queen was not far off of him, it would have only possibly taken just a few more seconds to hit him, but she was too late.

"Ascend, Icarus!" Luka knew the voice's name, his Persona. It existed within him for a long time. All he needed was a little push to be reminded. His body immediately erupted into a pillar of dark blue flames and broken chains, the explosion of energy knocking her far away into a nearby treehouse, though not enough to injure a Queen like her and he knew this. Pain and fatigue were long distant memories now, there was only power that was left.

Luka emerged from the spectral flames, physique filled with strength, the wound on his face completely gone, his outfit changed into a regal white with gold and bronze accents, his Enriken shirt replaced by Greek cuirass melding into his attire, a silky smooth collared cape that was split in the middle fluttered in the wind as its owner stood.

A mechanical figure with two pairs of wings physically manifested behind the small boy, formed out of the flames, it stood at nine feet tall, most of its body appeared to be made and sculpted from smooth marble which depicted a young male figure, its joints were seemingly made of bronze, its wings were where metal and stone perfectly intertwined, containing a small jet engine in each wing along with bronze feathers decorating the frame. At the very center of his chest was a ball of magma which pulsated similarly to that of a heartbeat.

Whiplash was felt quickly by the observers, the boy they have seen suffer at the hand of their queen and from unknown causes standing proudly against her, even knocking her away from a simple shockwave of his energy. Everyone remained speechless, only a few barely incomprehensible exclamations and stuttering messes of sentences, no one was willing to approach the boy anymore, the amount of power he oozed out his being prevented them from.

 _That is a…._ Luther gaped, finding no words that could offer any more clarification than the sight in front of him. _A Persona…Luka got a Persona…_

"Chu! Chu! Chumimi~in!" While Chambers was left to process this information, Tusk cheered on the purple-haired hero, its movements were noticed by Icarus who gave a wave to the small stand before turning his attention to the enemy.

 **It appears that the Queen has recovered. Let us test our wings against her.** Icarus gestured at the Queen, the voice that came from his still mouth voice sounding too lively for his body. True to his word, the Harpy Queen quickly came down from the crash to face them, more power than ever before radiating off her body, she slowly walked forward with uncertainty and fury.

Luka smirked, hoisting Angel Halo neatly off the ground and on to his shoulder, his Persona flexed his wings causing a large gust of air to be blown at all sides "It's Monsters like you are one of the reasons why coexistence hasn't happened, and there is no way I'm letting you keep it that way no matter what!" The fake hero positioned his sword into an Ox guard." Come on then, we're on equal ground now."

"Never in my life had I thought I would ever have to fight with my full power against a human…or whatever you are, you should feel honored." The Queen stated, curiously observing the metallic and marble make that was Luka's power. She spread her wings. The oppressive atmosphere was only getting harder as tension increased.

"Holding back? Perhaps there was no way to beat her with my previous power…" Luka frowned, touching some of the bruised parts of his body, but then smiled as an idea hit him.

"Let's finish this… **Dia"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Firstly I'll answer some questions beforehand that might pop up when reading this so I won't have to answer them in the comments.
> 
> \- What drove you to write this?
> 
> In all honesty, I had a selection of different stories I wanted to write for MGQ, hell, there is a lot of different appearing in my head from time to time one of them was a Persona/MGQ crossover fic idea with Luka going through semi new-game + after failing his first time to stop Ilias and her Shadow, it would have featured him slowly regaining his memories as he traveled through the world and attained Confidants (or Social links, whatever you like to call them) as well as gaining some canon and some OC party members, also Lucifina lives in this story.
> 
> \- Why is Icarus Luka's Persona?
> 
> When thinking of that fic's plot, Icarus always seemed to come to mind as Luka's Persona candidate, at least the one from my interpretations and memory. To me Icarus represented dreams, desires, and hope, recklessly seeking it, in the end, his death is a cautionary tale against that. To those very familiar with Luka's character could easily draw the connection. The fake hero's dreams are in the world's context extremely idealistic and his method of pursuing equally as strange, but determined. However, as most of the people that played MGQ here and the story itself pointed it out, with just a little bit of scrutiny one can easily see the many flaws in Luka's ideals, all of a sudden his coexistence falls apart after a while either ruining both races or only strictly benefiting the Monsters for several reasons I don't think I need to go into detail. There is that reckless dream seeking that runs parallel between those two characters.
> 
> \- What is Dia?
> 
> For some of you who are completely unaware of Persona or its mainline games "SMT" which it spun-off from you might be confused by this? Dia is the most basic healing spell a Persona User or Demon Summoner can use. It might be basic, but in the levels that are generally used in it does the job well.
> 
> -Why didn't you write the fight scene?
> 
> Got burned out, wanted to go to sleep.


End file.
